Gray Skies
by Jackie Chimera Alchemist
Summary: Elina Fosther never knew the meaning of trust. Wanting to run away from her cruel past without leaving town, she stays an orphan while causing trouble. She has always been able to get out of a bad situation, that is until she begins traveling with the Elric brothers. Learning military secrets is never easy, especially when one officer wants you dead.
1. Chapter 1: One Key Unlocks A New Journey

**Hey guys! I know this seems so sudden just to have another story up, but it's a preview of what's to come when I finish "A Purple Ribbon". This time, not even the OC is mine (Google). Turns out the picture used for Iris was a different character named Elina Fosther, so I came up with a story! Enjoy a preview of what's to come!**

 **DISCLAIMER: THIS TIME THE OC ISN'T EVEN MINE!**

* * *

 **Gray Skies- Chapter One: One Key Unlocks A New Journey**

* * *

In a delicate town in Eastern Amestris, a day's train ride away, was the bustling businesses and mornings of the people. This little town went by the name Roxas. Roxas' streets were bustling, from the shops and their customers to the houses and cars themselves, rushing down many of the streets available. Despite all the people and vehicles on the street, peace was plain to see. Sitting down at one of the many restaurants, a boy with gold hair and eyes was sitting beside a tall suit of armor at one of the many tables available. Not far from the two boys, a girl with chestnut hair, in a long braid, and silver eyes was running down the street with a policeman chasing her.

"I wonder what Mustang has in plan for me after we're done in Youswell" The blond sighed.

"We'll find out when we get to Central." The armor mentioned. "You'll have completed your first assignment as a state alchemist. Maybe the Colonel will congratulate you."

"I doubt it" The blond boy sighed as he rose from his chair and began walking away with the armor not far behind.

Before the boys could make it past the next shop, the girl ran into the blond boy, knocking both of them down.

"Ed! Are you okay?" The armor asked as he helped the blond boy, Edward, back on his feet.

"I'm fine, Al" Edward said as he rubbed his head and glared at the girl, who was currently on the ground, clutching her head. "Watch where you're going! Will ya?!"

"Brother!" Alphonse corrected as he bent down and held out his hand. "I'm sorry, miss. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine" The girl responded, shyly. The girl grabbed Al's hand as he helped her up. She dusted her hair off before lifting her head and looking at the boys. To her confusion, both boys gasped.

"Nina…?" Alphonse muttered, confusing the girl even more than before. Before she could reply, a police officer appeared down the street.

"GET BACK HERE!" The officer yelled, causing the girl to run past the boys and towards a dark alley. Both boys were puzzled as they heard the noise of people running. Suddenly, a scream came from the alley, causing both boys to run towards it.

"Let go of me!" The girl cried as officers grabbed her arms, pulling them behind her back.

"You shouldn't be here!" An officer shouted at Edward. Ed grabbed his pocket watch, flashing it at the officer, who saluted. "Sorry sir. I was unaware there was a state alchemist in the city"

"It's fine." Ed sighed as he placed his watch back in his pocket. "Do you know what's gonna happen to that girl?"

"Oh, Elina?" The officer sighed "She'll most likely be taken to the station and be escorted home, again"

"Escorted home?" Edward questioned.

"Yes. But I doubt we have an available officer willing to take her" The officer frowned. "She's quite the troublemaker, but as an alchemist she's number one, for sure."

"She knows alchemy?" Al asked.

"Yup. She's smarter than she looks, especially when it comes to the military" The officer smiled.

Alphonse thought for a minute. _Maybe we should escort her home. She might know something about the philosophers stone…_

"Does it have to be an officer?" Ed asked, as if he read his brother's mind.

* * *

At The Aquroya Police Station

Edward and Alphonse sat in chairs, waiting while the girl they encountered earlier was being lectured.

"Brother" Al said, getting Ed's attention. "Do you really think that what the officer said was true?"

"I don't know, Al. But judging by how well the officers know her, I'd say yeah" Ed admitted as he slumped in his seat.

"Brother-"

"Okay" A new voice interrupted. An officer with fluffy brown hair and a mustache walked out with the mysterious girl beside him. "These will be your escorts, Ms. Cross-"

"Fosther" The girl growled. "My last name is Fosther, not Cross"

"Sure it is" The officer shrugged. "Okay boys, someone told you the way, right?"

"Yeah, we got it" Ed nodded.

"Thanks again for doing this." The officer turned his head towards the girl. "Be polite, will ya?"

"Yeah, I'll try" The girl muttered as she faced the boys. "I'm guessing you two are taking me to my house?"

"That's the plan" Edward responded. The girl began walking ahead of the pair, silent as the boys followed.

"Um… What's your name?" Alphonse said, attempting to break the ice.

"Elina Melody Fosther" The girl told him. "What about you two?"

"I'm Alphonse Elric" Al replied.

"And I'm his older brother, Edward" Ed said with great pride.

"Nice, another pair sending to my 'house'" Elina sighed. "Just great"

"Aren't you glad to go home?" Alphonse asked. Elina grimaced.

"That place is not my home! I'm just another foster kid who has to put up with it." Elina snapped. Both boys looked at her with sympathy.

The trio stopped in front of a large house with a sign hanging by two small chains. The words on the sign saddened the brothers as they read: "Erin's Foster Children Center for All Ages". Elina shook her head as she walked into the old building with Edward and Alphonse not far behind.

"Diana! I'm back!" Elina called. Suddenly, a flash of red hair ran towards Elina.

"Oh Elina! I was so worried-!"

"No you weren't" Elina snapped. "I bet you were hoping I wouldn't come back. Too bad your dream didn't happen, today!"

The woman flinched. Up closer the boys could see her messy red hair tied up in an equally messy bun. Her eyes were a dark brown with glasses over them. It was obvious Elina had upset her.

"Lina…" The woman muttered. Elina ignored her as she took off her coat, revealing burn marks, several shades darker than her pale skin tone, going from her wrists and up arms. Before the boys could ask, Elina walked over to one of the many doors and walked into the room before slamming the door.

"Is everything alright?' Ed asked. The woman sighed as she straightened her glasses.

"I'm sorry if she was any trouble to you. I'm Diana Erin" Diana smiled as she stuck out her hand. Both boys shook her hand before continuing.

"What's with her?" Ed asked. "Did something happen?"

"Do you really want to know?" Diana asked with sad eyes.

* * *

Diana set down two cups of tea before sitting down herself.

"As I'm sure you're already aware, Elina is a bit of a problem child" Diana started. "But she wasn't always like that. In fact, this behavior started a year ago, maybe more."

"Elina said that she was a foster kid. Has she always lived here?" Ed asked as he sipped his tea.

"No, she hasn't. Only for the past two years" Diana admitted. "She came here after I got a request in the mail for a ten-year-old girl that wasn't getting placed. In foster homes like mine I get requests for children that haven't been placed for a long time, like in Elina's case, and most of the time the children have an issue that prevents them from getting adopted."

"An issue?" Alphonse questioned.

"That's right" Diana confirmed. "For example, children who are of Ishvalan descent have a harder time getting adopted due to prejudice. In Elina's case she refused to talk to anyone she didn't trust which, at the time, was everyone. I accepted her case immediately, despite all the warnings telling me not to"

"Warnings?" Ed asked, confused. "What warnings? Did the people who had her before warn you?"

"Oh no!" Diana chuckled. "I mean little things that told me I might have made a mistake, like when I called the previous foster parents asking for a photo of her. Turns out she had broken their camera when they tried to take a picture of her."

Both boys looked in shock.

"Another one of her major issues was she didn't understand the concept of being in trouble" Diana looked at the brother's confused expressions before continuing. "When she did something bad, she didn't care. If you put her in time-out she would just think of what to do next, if you put her in her room she would escape through a window, you tried hitting her she-" Diana froze for a moment. "She would fight back"

"What do you mean 'fight back'?" Edward asked. "She would attack you?"

"Yes, basically." Diana nodded. "I didn't find this specific fact out until later. I was scolding a girl that had stolen money by smacking her wrists, most children are punished like that, but before I could lay a hand on the girl… Elina kicked my ankle so hard that I had trouble walking for a while. After this happened, she ran away for a couple of days and I called her previous foster parents, who said it wasn't the first time she had attacked her guardian"

"Elina did that?" Alphonse said with a surprised tone. "It's hard to believe she could do attack someone"

"Oh believe me, it took me by surprise as well. But despite the injury she inflicted on me, I couldn't abandon her… I would be just as bad as the people before me." Diana rose and walked over to a box, bring back to the table as she unlocked it. Inside of the box was a delicate silver chain with a rusted copper key with decorative swirls. "This was an item that she had brought with her to every foster home she's ever been to. Apparently, her father attempted to make a charm for her mother using alchemy. When Elina was a child, her father gave her the key."

"Her father? I thought Elina was an orphan" Alphonse mentioned.

"Her father, according to her, is dead and her mother went missing only a few years after her daughter's birth." Diana said with a sad expression. "After a few months of being here, Elina learned to trust me and the children living here. She was especially bonded to a boy about a year older than her named James and a girl her age named Bethany. It was also around that time that she told me to hold this necklace for her." Diana seemed to cheer up as she smiled at the memory of a happy little Elina. "Elina's future was finally changing for the better! But…"

"What happened?" Alphonse asked.

"Around a year ago, a man interested in adopting Elina came here from South city to meet her. Although it seemed like a good opportunity for Elina to get adopted, I noticed something wrong the whole time we were talking to him." Diana said as she placed the box in its original space. "Elina would usually start talking to the person and get to know them, but with this man she wouldn't say a word. All she did was glare at him and stay silent. Before he left, I remember the man whispering something to Elina and she ran to her room. After that day, she became very rude and developed a bad attitude towards everyone but her friends. It became worse after Bethany and James got adopted and she stayed. One evening a woman came and adopted her on the spot, no questions asked, but the next day the police came in with her, saying that she was 'unsuitable for the family she was placed with'. Later that evening I questioned her about it, but she refused to say anything. Ever since then no one has tried to adopt her."

Diana lowered her head into her hands with a sigh.

"I feel like a failure. She's just a free spirit trapped in this place and there's not much I can do for her. The only people Elina talks to are the police and the toddlers currently in the nursery. She disappears for nights at a time and I can't stop her." Diana looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry! I've wasted your time and now it's almost tomorrow…"

"Oh no, it's fine" Alphonse insisted. "We wanted to hear the whole story, it's not your fault"

"Well, if you boys don't have a place to stay, you can stay in one of our spare rooms" Diana offered.

"We'll take you up on that offer!" Ed grinned.

"Great!" Diana smiled warmly as she picked up the two tea cups (Al's was untouched with the tea still in in, but cold) and headed towards the kitchen. "The room next to Elina's is yours for the night!"

"Thank you!" Alphonse shouted back as he carried his brother's bag to the blank room with two light blue beds and a small blue dresser.

As Alphonse entered the room, he thought he could someone humming.

" _…Pleading with fate, to be forgiving. Allow the shattered hearts to be regathered…_ " Alphonse heard.

"Time for bed, Elina!" Diana called out and the singing stopped almost immediately.

"Hey brother?" Alphonse asked as Edward lied down on one of the two beds.

"Yeah, Al?"

"Does Elina remind you of anyone?"

Edward thought for a minute before answering. "Yeah, she looks a lot like Nina"

"Really? I thought she reminded me of you!" Alphonse chuckled as Ed jumped up from the bed, shouting.

"I am NOT some spoiled brat!" Ed protested.

" **THE SPOILED BRAT CAN HEAR YOU!** " Elina's voice yelled from the other side of their wall.

"Sorry!" Alphonse shouted back. "Ed, think about it."

"I don't know, Al" Ed shrugged. "She has the same problem as us"

"Yeah…" Al said looking down. "Isn't there anything we can do for her?"

"Oh no you don't" Ed chastised. "You can't make everything better, Al. She's an orphan, there's nothing we can do about it"

"We couldn't do anything to save Nina" Alphonse muttered. Ed took a deep breath and sighed.

"Can't we just have one peaceful week without having to fix everything?"

* * *

Elina slowly rose from her bed, pulling her hair out of it's braid allowing it to reach her waist. Creaking her door slightly open, she stepped out and went towards the main room in the house.

 _Where did Diana put it?_ Elina thought as she searched for a box. As she looked on top of a shelf, she grabbed the box and lowered it as she pulled out it's contents. _I have a strong feeling that something's going to change_

* * *

"GET BACK HERE!" A voice yelled as Edward woke up to the sound the yelling police officers. The light from outside was shining through his window.

Edward jumped out of bed and slipped on his coat and he ran out the door, joining his brother outside of the building. "What happened?" Edward asked, out of breath.

"Elina got out last night and now..." Alphonse pointed to a roof where Elina was lying down, munching at an apple as the police attempted to reach her. Edward sighed as he clapped his hands and catapulted himself onto the roof. Elina didn't seem phased as she toke another bite from her apple.

"You shouldn't cause trouble this early in the morning" Edward lectured.

"Sorry Mr. Sleepy head." Elina said sarcastically. "Next time I'll schedule trouble after you have your little nap"

Elina threw her apple core at Edward and ran to the next roof.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-?!" Edward muttered angrily as he followed the girl.

"Oh, Ed" Alphonse sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He turned his head towards the door as it opened and a yawning Diana in a purple nightgown came walking out.

"Why is everyone being so-" Diana froze when she saw Edward chasing Elina. "ELINA?!" Diana shouted before muttering a string of profanities.

"Don't worry. Brother and I will take care of this" Alphonse assured as he ran off to follow Edward. Elina kept running on and off roofs as Edward stayed on her trail.

 _Ha! There's no way he's catching me anytime soon!_ Elina thought as she jumped of a low roof and headed into a crowd grouping on the street. Soon Elina began to slow down to a stroll, observing all the shops and people. Elina felt a sting of pain go up her left arm as a mustached man bumped into to her.

"So sorry, young lady!" The man apologized as he ran off and Elina rubbed her arms.

 _I might as well buy bandages for my arms_ Elina thought as she gently rubbed her arm over her oversized sweat shirt. As she approached an unoccupied shop, she grabbed two rolls of cloth bandages and placed some coins on the wooden table and walked away. She didn't have to steal  all the time.

Before she could she could walk anywhere else, her attention was grabbed as a small child coughed. The child was wearing baggy clothing and has was covered in dirt, he was an orphan like her. Elina approached the child as he looked at her with green eyes of defeat.

"It's okay, little guy" Elina smiled. "Are you cold?"

"Yeah" The child said softly. "I was waiting for my dad. He said to wait right here, so I can't move from here"

"How long ago was this?" Elina asked as she gripped her fists.

"Two weeks ago"

"Okay kid, do you want anything?" Elina asked, attempting to control her anger.

"A blanket... and some food"

"Okay, give me a few minutes, I'll be right back" As Elina turned away, the boy gripped her sleeve.

"Promise you'll come back?" The boy asked with tears in his eyes. "You won't leave me alone?"

"I won't" Elina assured. She handed the boy her bandages and smiled. "When I come back, you can give these back to me since I really need these bandages. Okay?"

"Okay" The boy smiled weakly. Elina smiled as she walked off in the direction of Diana's. Before she could make it to the house, a hand grabbed Elina's sleeve. As Elina turned around, she could see it was the blond boy and his armored brother.

"Going somewhere?" Edward asked sarcastically.

"Actually, I am" Elina snapped. "So can you refrain yourself from grabbing me?" Edward didn't loosen his grip.

"You have an apology to make" Ed growled.

"To who?" Elina asked, confused. Ed pointed at himself and Elina laughed. "Oh yeah! I'll definitely apologize to a short guy like you!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALLER THAN A SUNFLOWER SEED?!" Edward yelled.

"I… Didn't say that. Look, I've got things to do, alright?!" Elina snapped as she yanked back her sleeve and ran into the house. Diana, who was feeding a mob of hungry toddlers at the moment, smiled as Elina entered the house.

"Elina! I was just making lunch!" Diana smiled. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Yeah, actually" Elina nodded as Diana handed her a boxed lunch. "The blankets are upstairs right?"

"Yes, but why-"Before Diana could finish, Elina ran up the stairs and grabbed a fluffy blue blanket before running out the door.

Before Elina could make it to the street, a certain voice yelled "YOU STILL OWE ME AN APOLOGY!"

Elina turned around to see Alphonse attempting to hold Edward back. Elina began running in to the street, trying not to laugh at the sight. Edward broke free from Al's arms and began following Elina.

"Brother!" Al complained as he chased his brother. Elina continued running until she felt rain drops on her head. She slowed down and smiled.

 _Those idiots aren't going to follow me out in the rain_ Elina thought as she covered the blanket and ran towards the alley. Behind her, hidden by the crowd, was both brothers. Edward began heaving as he felt the effect of the rain on his automail.

"Ed, should we really follow her? You don't look too good" Alphonse pointed out as he saw Ed's pale face.

"No! This girl's up to something and I want to find out!" Edward spat out as he hid behind a cart and spied on the girl along with Alphonse.

Elina approached the alley, which was sheltered from the rain, and bent down next to the sickly boy. The boy smiled brightly as Elina handed him the blanket. As the boy took the blanket, he handed Elina the bandages she had left.

"You came back!" The boy cheered.

"I promised, didn't I?" Elina smiled back as she handed him the boxed lunch. "Eat up!"

The boy opened the box and began devouring the rice, not caring how much had gotten on his clothing. Elina giggled as she slipped off her sweat shirt, revealing her tang top, and began unwrapping her scarred arms. The boy stopped eating and looked in sorrow and pity. Elina saw this and chuckled.

"Sorry kid. I now this must look bad"

"How did you get those burns?" The boy asked. Elina's expression didn't change as she began wrapping her right arm in new bandages.

"That's something I'd rather not talk about" Elina explained. "It brings up bad memories."

The boy nodded as he continued eating. Elina sighed as she began wrapping her left arm, ignoring the stings of pain from her scarred arms. As the boy finished his meal, Elina finished wrapping her arms and threw her old bandages away. As she did this, the boy marveled at a shiny object in her back pocket: A dagger.

"Why do you have a knife?" The boy asked. Elina looked at him and smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. It was indeed a dagger, its blade couldn't be mistaken for anything else. The blade was the length of Elina's forearm and the handle had a bird carved into it.

"It's something I use to protect myself" Elina assured. "I've never used it on anyone before, but it's always good to have something"

"Do you know how to use it?" The boy asked.

"Yeah" Elina smiled. "I can use this and smaller daggers. Hand me something"

The boy looked around and handed Elina a metal can and a thick piece of scrap metal. Elina took a deep breath as she threw the metal can up in the air and slashed it into two pieces with her larger dagger. The boy threw the metal can and Elina reached for her belt, throwing a trio of small daggers and pinning the can to the wall.

"Awesome!" The boy smiled.

"Thanks! It took years of practice" Elina grinned with confidence.

"Who taught you?" The boy asked. Elina's eyes shined with tears at the question.

"My father" She responded sadly. The boy looked at her as he yawned. "Why don't you sleep for a little bit?"

"Okay" The boy yawned once more. As Elina sat down beside him, he noticed a silver bracelet with an engraving on it on Elina's left wrist. "What's that?"

Elina looked at the bracelet and smiled. "It's from my father. It's says 'When we meet, we will live in the castle in the sky'."

"Castle in the sky?" The boy asked, half-asleep.

"It's a legend" Elina smiled. "If you are an honest person then every night when you fall asleep you can enter the castle in the sky and be able to dance and laugh and sing all you want!"

"What else is in the castle?" The boy asked as he put his head in Elina's lap.

"Lots of things!" Elina giggled. "Parties every night, wonderful rooms, feasts fit for a king, and lots more! Or so I've been told."

"Who's the queen?" The boy asked as he tried to stay awake.

"There's no queen." Elina smiled. "Only a woman in white who guides you through the castle. She's said to be the kindest woman ever born and she adores children"

"Have you ever been to the castle?"

"Not for a long time" Elina smiled as she ruffled the boy's black hair. "You should go to sleep. Maybe you'll get to go to the castle in the sky"

"Can you sing me a song?" The boy begged. Elina's eyes widened at the request.

"Okay" Elina agreed as she felt a tug at her heart and took a deep breath. " _Forgotten days, a fading memory. Lost and no longer seeking one another. Desperately still, you're reaching toward him. Hopelessly certain you can mend the broken-_ "

Elina stopped as the boy fell asleep, his eyes closed and his chest rose and fell. She smiled at the sight as she leaned her head against the wall behind her and fell asleep as well.

As the rain stopped, the boys still had their jaws dropped.

"She's like you, Ed" Alphonse insisted.

"How?" Ed asked.

"Everyone assumes state alchemists are dogs of the military until they meet you." Alphonse pointed out. "When we met Elina everyone told us she was trouble, but…"

"She's just sick of being abandoned" Ed realized.

"Brother… We can't leave her here" Alphonse stated. "We have to help somehow"

"What should we do?" Ed shrugged. "It's out of our hands"

As the brothers began to walk away, Alphonse looked at Elina, still asleep with the boy on her lap. _Elina sounded like mom when she would sing us a lullaby_ Alphonse thought.

"Al! You just gonna stand there?" Edward called.

"Coming!" The armor called as he followed Edward.

* * *

"Wake up!" A voice called out as Elina opened her eyes. Elina turned her head to see the boy from before shaking her shoulders.

"What is it, kid?" Elina asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Aaron!"

"Huh?" Elina questioned.

"My name is Aaron!" The boy smiled.

"Nice to finally know your name!" Elina giggled. "My name's Elina Fosther"

"Thanks for taking care of me, Elina!" Aaron smiled but his expression dropped as he took a deep breath. "Elina… You were saying stuff in your sleep… stuff about my father… do you really think he ...abandoned me?"

Elina didn't know what to say. _Note to self: Work on sleep talking_

"Well, I-"

"Yes or no?!" Aaron snapped. "Don't sugar coat it!"

"...I'm sorry kid" Elina apologized.

" So it's true. I'm an orphan now... It's his fault, not mine." Aaron smiled.

"You and me both, Aaron." Elina said, patting the kids shoulder.

"Can we meet up later?"

"Sure" Elina smiled as she rose to her feet and pulled her sweatshirt back on. "Don't get caught, okay?"

"Got it!" Aaron agreed as he began walking away.

"And Aaron?" Elina yelled causing the nine-year-old to freeze. "I'll find you your perfect family. You can count on me"

"Okay!" The boy smiled as he ran off, leaving Elina.

Elina began walking in the direction of the foster home and yawned. The sun was barely rising and the little town's street lights were still bright. Elina approached the house and walked inside as if it was normal to go missing during the night. Elina walked over to a red door and opened it slightly to see a sleeping Diana still in her clothes from the day before. Closing the door, she walked to the room next to hers and cracked open the door. She could see the blond boy sleeping with his limbs sprawled out.

 _Phew! Coast is cl-_

"You're back" A voice spoke, interrupting Elina's thoughts. Elina covered her mouth before she screamed and turned her head to see the armor brother sitting on the floor.

"Why are you awake?!" Elina whispered once she removed her hand.

"It's a long story" Alphonse chuckled nervously. "You were gone all night. Diana was really worried about you"

"I know, but she doesn't have to worry!" Elina whispered angrily. "She can't keep me caged"

"Yep, you're just like Ed!" Alphonse chuckled.

"Like Ed?" Elina looked confused. "How?"

"Well-"

"SSHHH!" Elina silenced as she signaled him to go outside. Alphonse looked over and saw Ed stirring in his sleep, understanding the panic. Alphonse rose and followed Elina to the front steps of the foster home.

"Jeez! That was close! You were saying?" Elina grinned.

"It's nothing." Alphonse assured. "You shouldn't worry Ms. Erin like that"

"Ms. Erin? Oh you mean Diana" Elina shrugged. "I'm just a rejected orphan. Why should I care about adults?"

"Because they care about YOU" Alphonse pointed out. "Ms. Erin didn't abandon you! She accepted you and wanted you to find a home! What is it that made you so reluctant to find a home?!"

Elina held her arms as a painful memory flashed through her head and made her whimper.

"I'm sorry" Alphonse apologized. "I know that was out of line, but it's the truth"

"I know it's the truth!" Elina said with tears in her eyes. "You think I don't know that?! I don't trust adults! Adults are the reason I have these damned scars on my arms! Adults are the reason that I'm afraid of fire! I've been abandoned most of my life and you expect me to recover that easily?!"

"I-I didn't know" Alphonse said nervously. "Even if that is true, that doesn't give you the right to hurt Ms. Erin and worry her all the time!"

"Look, if I start behaving and get adopted than he'll come back!" Elina said shaking. "He'll come back like he always does… and take someone else from me. Can't you see?! I'm running away from someone! I can't get out of the city, so I use a different method… If I stay an orphan, he won't hurt anyone else…"

"Who's he?" Alphonse asked. Elina stood up, tears going down her cheeks.

"That's something I don't want to answer" Elina snapped. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt!"

Elina began running as she Ignored the armor's attempt to call her back. She felt like he was watching her, making sure she was dead to the world.

If I hear about you again, you'll be the cause of a very unfortunate incident

Elina could remember the feeling of his hot breath on her ear as she was filled to the brim with terror. Her memories were a sin to her, unforgiving and making her relive her past. Elina kept running until she tripped on a tree stump, making her collide with the concrete and dirt.

"Elina?" A little voice spoke. Elina rose and looked behind her to see Aaron, the little boy she had helped earlier. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay" Elina assured as she sat on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Then why are you crying?" Aaron asked as he sat next to her.

"I just want to run…" Elina chuckled. "This place is becoming one bad memory. I'm thinking about leaving town"

"Leaving town?" Aaron repeated. "What about the promise you made?"

"Don't worry" Elina smiled. "I am going to find you your perfect family. I'm not going back on that"

"But…" Aaron sighed. "I can't go anywhere"

Elina sighed as she rose to her feet. "There's this foster home you can go to for the time being. You'll have fun there, okay?"

"Okay!" Aaron smiled. "When you come back, I want a family!"

"I promise, kid" Elina chuckled as Aaron ran off towards the foster home. Elina smiled as she watched the boy disappear into the crowd. Elina looked at the foster home one more time before walking towards the train station.

As Elina walked to the station, she recalled happy memories of the foster home.

 _I'm sorry Diana. I can't let anyone else get hurt_ Elina thought as heard the train's horn go off. Elina looked at the town once more as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small key pendant, holding it close.

"ALL ABOARD!" A conductor shouted as Elina approached the train.

"Wait for us!" A voice yelled. Elina turned around to see Edward and Alphonse running towards her. When the two reached her, Edward had to take several deep breaths.

"You're really leaving, aren't you?" Edward asked.

"Yeah" Elina nodded. "I have nowhere else to hide, so it's time to run"

Elina turned her back, ready to walk away, until Alphonse spoke up.

"Why not go with us?"

Elina turned around, her eyes wide with disbelief. Ed smiled as he held out three train tickets.

"But… I'm just trouble" Elina said, shocked. "Why would you want me to come?"

"Ed and I decided that we want to see what you're like for ourselves" Al explained. "So, will you come with us?"

Elina felt tears of joy go down her cheeks as she reached out and grabbed a ticket.

You were right, dad. I do have a purpose… I just needed to look a little harder.

* * *

 **AWWWWWWW! FEELS!**

 **Okay, cookies to the people who can spot the constant kingdom hearts references. Remember, this is just a preview of what's to come after A Purple Ribbon. This story will be following the original FMA series, give or take some episodes.**

 **As for the song I used as Elina's lullaby, here's a link to the channel:** **user/Nucl3arW3ss3l**

 **Anyways, I won't officially start this story until my first one is complete. Until next time!**

* * *

 **Okay, Update as of February 3rd, 2016. I'm deciding whether to release more chapters of this while rewriting A Purple Ribbon. If you have an opinion, Message me!**

 **Jackie C.A.**


	2. Hearts of Gold

**Am I being mean by releasing a second chapter for a PREVIEW? Yep. I actually have a reason for doing this, you guys. I just so happen to have a chapter of this and the next chapter of A Purple Ribbon is far from ready. I know updates have been torture lately, but my house is being renovated so progress has been slow. I have been warned time and time again NOT to release this, but I wanted you guys to be aware of what's going on so you don't send an assassin after me. Now please keep in mind, THIS IS STILL A PREVIEW. I have no plans to update this frequently. I may update once every 2 or 3 months, but my first story comes... well first. Until it's done, these updates will be rare.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Hearts of Gold**

* * *

 _ **This series will not officially start until A Purple Ribbon has been completed. Enjoy**_

* * *

"Do you always travel by train?" Elina asked as she watched the scenery go by from her window. The sun was setting and it produced a beautiful array of colors that matched the lush scenery nearby.

"Well, yeah" Ed shrugged. "We can't exactly walk everywhere"

"I wasn't suggesting that" Elina sighed. "I was just wondering"

"Don't mind him" Alphonse assured. "So Elina, what did you get while brother and me were waiting for the train?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just new clothes and a book" Elina smiled as she jumped from her seat and did a spin. Elina's old, worn down clothes were replaced by a blue top with sleeves going to her elbows, a pair of white pants going down to her ankles and dark blue boots similar to sneakers. Her green jacket was currently tied around her waist with a knot. The rest of her arms were occupied by her cloth bandages, which were hiding her burns. At her throat was the little copper key hung by a silver chain.

"What kind of book did you get?" Alphonse asked.

"A book on alchemy" Elina smiled. "I already know the life of a state alchemist, so I might as well try to learn more alchemy"

"How do you know about state alchemists?" Edward asked. Elina's expression grew depressed for a moment before returning to normal.

"My mother was a state alchemist and my father was a soldier. My father thought it was necessary to learn about jobs in the military." Elina explained.

"Your mother was a state alchemist?" Alphonse asked in surprise.

"What was her title?" Edward asked, curious as well.

"The Jade Alchemist" Elina answered. "She could manipulate stones into weapon and had a lot of knowledge about soil and rocks. Stuff like that"

"What about your father?" Alphonse asked. Elina's eyes lit up at the question. "He was a brave soldier that fought in the Ishvallan Civil War! He was always helping people all he could! He was a truly amazing man!"

"Wow! Your father must have been pretty incredible!" Alphonse chuckled.

"He really was! But he always made time to come home and be with me! Even if his alchemy is pretty bad." Elina giggled.

"Oh yeah! Your old man was amazing! Someone give him a medal!" Ed snapped.

"What's your problem?" Elina growled.

"We didn't have such a great relationship with our father" Alphonse explained. Elina froze, confused.

 _What is he talking about? Did something happen?_ Elina pondered. Suddenly the train stopped and Elina had to brace herself to prevent falling.

"Looks like we're here" Edward stated as he stretched and lead the way. As the trio stepped out of the train, the true image of Youswell was still settling. The beautiful scenery Elina had witnessed earlier turned out to be a view of a nearby town. The lack of people and the dirty roads made Elina wonder if anyone really lived there. The few people that were out were completely quit.

"Are we in the right place?" Elina asked. "There's no one here"

"It's supposed to be a coal mining town, but it looks more like a ghost town to me" Ed commented.

"Everyone here looks so worn down" Alphonse pointed out.

"I have to agree" Elina sighed. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"Finish the inspection and blow this-"Before Ed could finish, a plank of wood hit him in the back of his skull, causing him to fall back. The boy holding the turned towards the trio as Ed rubbed his head.

"Sorry!" The boy apologized in his western accent. Up close, he had messy brown hair with matching eyes and a bandage on his cheek. "Wait, are you guys' tourists? Where you from? Have you eaten? Where you staying?"

"Hell of a welcoming committee!" Ed groaned.

"Edward, be polite!" Elina chuckled.

"Pa! We got visitors!" The boy called out. A man on the catwalk looked down at the boy.

"What are you going on about?" The man called.

"Over here! Big spenders!" The boy yelled, waving one hand.

"That's a little rude, don't you think?" Elina said nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Hey! My name's Halling and I run the local inn! We'll take good of ya!" Halling called.

"Maybe we should discuss this before-"Elina suggested before she was being pushed towards the inn. "Okay! I guess we're going to the inn!"

* * *

"So what do ya think?" Halling asked as the trio looked around the inn. Inside the inn was full of men with a tall glass of beer in front of them, chatting up a storm. "I know it's not much but since the coal mines wages are so low, at least with this place I can keep two irons in the fire!"

"What a great place!" Elina smiled. Both boys chuckled at Elina's expression.

"So that'll be three for one night?" The woman in front of them asked.

"And what are your rates?" Alphonse asked.

"Well they ain't cheap!" Halling smirked. Elina began sweating nervously.

"I'm sure we can cope!" Edward assured. "Despite the appearances, we've got plenty of cash!"

Halling smirked as he put up three fingers ( **A.N. I did the math for this change!** ) "300,000" Halling grinned.

"WHAT?!" Edward shouted, spooking Elina as she cowered behind Alphonse, who was just as shocked as Edward. "300,000?! That's ridiculous! Are you gonna put gold bars on our pillows?!"

"It's a fair price, seeing how ours is the finest inn in Youswell!" Halling bragged.

"Not to mention it's the only one!" The boy from before smirked.

"We haven't guests in some time, so we gotta milk you folks for all it's worth!" Halling grinned. The trio was growing paler with every sentence. Edward looked in his wallet and sighed.

"It's not even close to enough!" Ed whispered.

"I shouldn't have bought anything during our rest stop!" Elina said as she began crying.

"It's fine Elina! You needed new clothes! We'll figure something out!" Alphonse assured in an effort to stop her from crying.

"Guess we're going to plan B" Edward shrugged. "Elina, you know some alchemy, right?"

"I know some" Elina nodded.

"Good, then let's get to work!" Ed grinned. Edward walked over to a table full of men. "Need any repairs?"

* * *

Edward clapped his hands and set then on a broken pick ax, blue light surrounding the axe before it stopped glowing to reveal the fixed product.

"Wow! He fixed it!" One man awed.

"It looks as good as new!" Another shouted. Everyone looked at the pick axe in awe.

"Come on! What else needs fixing?" Edward grinned.

"Well… If it's not too much trouble." The woman from the register walked up with a broken vase. "This is special to me, but it's broken"

"You still haven't thrown out that old piece of junk?" Halling asked.

"Maybe if you bought us some nice things once in a while" The woman snapped. Elina walked up to the woman.

"Can I try? I promise I'll be careful" Elina smiled as the woman handed her the vase.

"Here, let me help" Alphonse offered as he drew a transmutation circle with chalk. Elina and Alphonse both clapped their hands and set them on the table, allowing the vase to illuminate with a blue light. When the light settled, the vase was repaired.

"Thank you so much!" The woman smiled as she hugged the vase. Elina smiled at the woman.

"Who would've thought that our first tourists in ages would be real live alchemists?" Halling grinned. "I took a crack at alchemy myself once, but never went anywhere with it"

"So what's brings you to Youswell?" The boy asked. "There's not much here for someone like you!"

"It's business" Ed admitted. "In fact, I've come here to inspect the coal mine."

The place went silent after Ed spoke those words. Elina felt the warm atmosphere go cold in a matter of seconds. "Was it something he said?" Elina whispered. Alphonse just shrugged.

"Inspect? You're a part of the military?" Halling questioned.

"Well yeah! I'm a state alchemist" Edward answered. "Cool, huh?"

Halling grabbed Edward by his coat and threw him out the door like his was a dog in a kitchen along with his suitcase. Edward landed face first on the ground with his suitcase landing on him.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Edward yelled.

"We don't have any food or beds to offer to dogs of the military" Halling stated. Elina cowered behind Alphonse as Halling turned towards them. "Are you two with the military too?"

"No, uh-"Alphonse was interrupted as Edward began shouting.

"They'll got nothing to do with it!" Edward yelled. Elina looked at Edward through the door in surprise. "I just met them on the train, on the way here!"

"But Ed…" Elina muttered.

"Fine then. You can sleep on the streets like the rest of the dogs!" Halling snapped as he slammed the door shut.

"Alphonse… Why do these people not like the military?" Elina whispered. "I thought state alchemists helped people…"

"Not everyone has the people in mind, Elina" Alphonse answered.

 _What does he mean?_ Elina wondered.

* * *

"Your dad sure feels strongly about it" Alphonse pointed out. Elina sat next to him, restraining herself as she heard insults about the military. The boy in front of the pair had just as many negative thoughts as everyone else.

"Of course he does!" The boy shouted. "Everyone around here hates the stupid army! And that greedy sucker, Yoki, who's in charge of this place is the worst of all of them!"

"Yoki?" Alphonse asked.

"My dad mentioned him a couple times. Rumor has it that he bought his way to first lieutenant" Elina explained as Halling set two trays of food in front of the pair.

"You've got that much right. And now he's got that sneaky little state alchemist to do all his dirty work!" Halling shouted. "'Alchemists be thou for the people', that's their crock of a slogan. But they're only people that care about their own damn selves!"

"But sir…" Alphonse tried to protest.

"They're self-righteous thugs who sell their soul to the state!" Halling finished as he walked off with the boy, leaving the pair alone. Elina felt tears in the back of her eyes.

"I don't think I can take the insults much longer…" Elina muttered.

"That's right, your mother was a state alchemist" Alphonse remembered.

"I don't give a damn about my mother! It's my father they're insulting… "Elina said as she tightened her fist. "Do people really think everyone in the military is bad?"

"Most people do… They don't know people of the military themselves…" Alphonse said, trying to calm Elina down.

"Then they shouldn't talk about them like they're all crap." Elina sighed.

* * *

Elina followed Alphonse as he carried a tray of food outside. "Edward's going to love this!" Elina chuckled.

"Shhh!" Alphonse warned. Elina looked in front of Alphonse and saw Edward sitting there, talking to himself. Edward reached into his pocket and pulled something out before slightly removing his glove and looking at his automail.

"Ah, Winry. If only you'd think about my human parts instead of my metal parts every now and then." Edward said to himself. That was when Alphonse decided to speak up.

"She does think about your human side" Alphonse assured. Elina walked out from behind Alphonse and waved. "I snuck this out for you. After all, I can't eat it"

"Al…" Ed sighed as Al gave him the try and he began eating the sandwich.

"I must've missed something. Who's Winry?" Elina asked.

"She's an old friend of ours. She's also Ed's mechanic" Alphonse said. Alphonse looked at Elina as he realized something. "That's right. Brother didn't tell you about his automail-"

"It's fine. I already knew." Elina shrugged. "I used to play with a bunch of kids, some of them had automail. That and you reek of oil!"

"Hey!" Ed snapped. Elina just laughed.

"They really do hate the military here" Alphonse sighed.

"Yeah! I'll watch that from now on!" Edward said with a full mouth. Alphonse immediately regret what he said as he looked over at Elina and saw her close to tears.

"Sorry, Elina!" Alphonse panicked.

"Why does everyone hate the military so much?" Elina asked. "No everyone is bad… I feel like they're insulting my father… He was a good man, not even close to what the people described."

"Not everyone had your childhood" Ed pointed out. "They experienced something different, so their views will be different as well. It's something we can't help"

"I guess." Elina shrugged. "It really does-"

"Step aside!" Elina heard someone yell.

"What's going on?" Elina asked.

"Nothing good, that's for sure!" Edward said as he jumped up and ran towards the window. Inside there was a woman holding her hands near her throat. The air around her seemed to glow red as it gathered and shot towards a man in front of her. The man was sent back and knocked to the floor.

"We can't just stand here!" Elina insisted. The trio ran to the back entrance and into the inn, only to see a soldier with his sword aiming towards the boy from earlier. Before anyone else could move, Ed ran in front of the boy and held up his right arm. The sword clanged against Ed's arm as everyone froze. Elina ran towards the boy (Khayal) and pulled him away from the soldier.

"It's okay now, you're okay" Elina whispered to Khayal, who was still shaking. Elina rose and walked up next to Edward.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" One of the men yelled. Elina had seen enough pictures of the man to recognize him as Yoki.

"When I heard the lieutenant would be dropping in, I thought I'd come by and say hello" Edward grinned as he pulled out his pocket watch, showing it to Yoki.

"Is that what I-"Yoki gasped as one of his soldiers muttered something. After muttering something back, Yoki approached Edward. "How terribly rude of my subordinate, please forgive his idiocy. I'm lieutenant Yoki, the man in charge here. So, what business might you have in our humble little town?"

"Just here to conduct an inspection with my assistant" Edward said, motioning towards Elina, who was very confused.

"Inspection? Marvelous! But you must come stay at my mansion. I hope you haven't had to mingle with these unwashed messes for too long." Yoki said as he began walking away with Edward. Elina looked back at the group and saw hatred in their glares.

"Come, Elina! We can't fall behind!" Edward grinned. Elina mouthed 'I'm sorry' before running behind Edward, who was grinning the whole time.

 _I have a strong feeling that he's just using me as bait. And that he's enjoying this._ Elina sighed.

"It's such a great honor for me to be hosting a genuine state alchemist such as yourself in my home!" Yoki praised. Edward was sitting across from Yoki while Elina was standing beside Edward, thinking of ways to return the favor of being his 'assistant'. "And since we are so blessed to have such a talented scientist in our midst, you should have him take a look at your alchemy tips, Lyra" Yoki said, motioning towards one of his maids.

"Yes" The maid smiled.

"Nah, I already saw. She liquefied the air around her, reduced its volume and then vaporized it, producing a shock wave" Edward explained. "Light came from the heat of generalized, forced compression, needed to maintain entropy."

"You could deduce all that just by looking at it?" Yoki asked, surprised.

"Actually my ultimate goal is to become a state alchemist, to be just like you Mr. Elric." Lyra praised.

"To be like me?" Ed asked.

"I wish nothing more than to do all that I can do for the state" Lyra bowed.

 _They're just making Ed's ego larger by the minute_ Elina thought.

"Something wrong, Elina?" Edward asked, grinning. Elina had shot him a glare that was planning his death, without knowing it.

"Oh nothing, sir. We do need to inspect the mines and report back to Central soon. I do hope you're not wasting your time." Elina said as calmly as she could.

"Well, of course. That's why we came here" Ed shrugged. Before she could say anything else, Yoki got their attention.

"Bon appetite! You'll need strength for the work ahead. I do hope that our credential cuisine suits your refined tastes" Yoki smirked.

 _Refined tastes? Oh please! He'll eat steak off the floor if he needs to!_ Elina chuckled.

"You eat pretty well considering the economic condition of this town" Ed pointed out.

"Times are tough for all of us! I can tell you, I've had plenty of trouble collecting taxes! And those minors can be so brutishly obstinate, as you saw." Yoki complained.

 _Weren't you the one who ordered to have a kid's arm cut off?!_ Elina fumed in anger.

"And by obstinate, you mean asserting their rights and refusing to pay you more than they earn." Ed pointed out.

"See? You get it! I knew you were man of great understanding!" Yoki smiled.

 _Geez! If this guy were any denser, he would be on the periodic table!_ Elina chuckled.

"To understand the world, we have only to follow one basic principle: Equivalent exchange, the founding law of alchemy" Edward explained. "You can't get without giving. Right?"  
"Absolutely! Eloquently put. I, myself, have long conducted business under a similar guiding principle in the spirit which… Lyra?" Yoki signaled. Lyra pushed a card and a tiny sack towards Edward. "Please accept this small token of my appreciation"

"What would you call this, Elina?" Edward asked.

"I believe it's called a bribe. Not the most legal thing to offer" Elina snapped.

"Bribe is such an ugly word. Why don't we just call it equivalent exchange?" Yoki said, innocently. "Now then, the matter of your inspection."

"Yeah I get your drift" Ed agreed. Elina almost turned towards Edward yelling, but she restrained herself.

"I knew you would! You are truly a man of great understanding!" Yoki praised. "Oh, and I have a feeling the town's people are going to start behaving themselves very shortly"

* * *

"Assistant? Really?" Elina said as she glared at Edward. After dinner, the two had been taken to separate rooms, but Elina managed to sneak into Edward's room to lecture him.

"It worked didn't it?" Edward chuckled.

"For you, it did." Elina muttered. All of a sudden, crashes were heard outside and smoke coming from the inn could be seen. "Crap! Ed, we got to help!"

"We'll have to wait until morning or Yoki will get suspicious" Ed reasoned.

"You can wait here. Tell Yoki someone from Central needed to talk with me and I was in a rush or something. He already thinks I'm your damn assistant!" Elina snapped as she dashed out of the room before Ed could protest anymore, running past a confused Yoki. Running out the mansion door, Elina kept running until she could see the inn clearly, or at least what was left of it. Out of breath, she walked towards the once cozy inn now completely destroyed. The people inside of the building were all crowded around Halling and his wife.

"Elina!" Alphonse called. Elina looked beyond the crowd and saw Alphonse in the wreckage with Khayal. Running over to them, Elina could see all the scratches on both of them. "I thought you were with Ed"

"I was pretending to be his damn assistant, which he seemed to enjoy, but then I saw the smoke and came running as fast as I could to see what I could do" Elina explained. "I now know what you meant when you told me not everyone has the people in mind" Elina offered a hand and smiled. "Come on, let's get you out of that rubble, okay?"

Alphonse was silent as he accepted Elina's hand and she pulled him up. Elina helped Khayal out of the rubble as he walked over to his parents, leaving the pair to look at the wreckage. Just as the sun was beginning to rise, Elina heard footsteps coming up to Alphonse and knew who it was immediately.

"Was this Yoki's doing?" Edward asked.

"Who else?" Elina asked sarcastically. Khayal walked up to the trio, limp and all.

"You're some kind of super alchemist, right?" Khayal asked. "So…? Can't you just make some gold…? For my dad? You could save the whole town!"

"It's not that simple, Khayal" Elina said, shaking her head. "Even if he wanted to, he can't"

"But why not?! It won't cost you nothing!" Khayal yelled.

"You're wrong! The whole world is equivalent exchange! I give you gold and I'd have to pay the price. Got no reason to do that." Edward said, calmly.

"SO WE HAVE TO BRIBE YOU NOW, TOO?!" Khayal screamed as he grabbed Edward by the collar. "AND YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ALCHEMIST!"

"'Alchemists be thou for the people', what a load that is" Ed scoffed as he lowered Khayal's hand from his collar. "Transmuting gold is a serious offense! If I'm caught they'll not only strip me of my state alchemist certification, but they'll throw me in jail!"

"Then do it so you don't get caught!" Khayal yelled.

"Even if I could, it would just get taken away in taxes!" Ed retorted.

"If Yoki sees you with gold, he'll tax you so much you won't have enough money to buy the clothes on your back!" Elina explained. "If we give you gold and it gets taken, then you'll be worse off than you were without us!"

"If it's that awful here, why you all just saddle up and move on to another town?" Ed snapped.

"Kid" Halling spoke. "This may not make a lot of sense to you, but this place… It's both our home and our coffin"

"Home and coffin. That's got a nice ring" Ed smirked. Elina felt a smile on her face as Ed began walking off. "Elina, you stay here"

"What? Why me?" Elina whined.

"You need sleep, stay here and rest" Alphonse lectured as he followed his brother.

"But guys!" Elina sighed as Halling put his hand on her shoulder. "You guys need any help?"

* * *

"Why?!" Khayal shouted as pounded his fist on a barrel. Elina sat against the stone wall reading her alchemy book. "Why can't I fight?!"

"Because I can't… I can't risk losing you, son" Halling tried to reason.

"But they smashed our inn! We have to make them pay for that!"

"It's just a building, Khayal. Nothing that's worth dying for!" Halling lectured. Khayal tightened his fists as he kicked the stone wall.

"Stupid military! They're heartless monsters who've sold their souls to the devil! Each and every one of them!" Khayal yelled. Elina closed her book with a slap.

"You have no right to talk about the military like that" Elina muttered.

"Why not?! You've seen what they've done to us!" Khayal shouted.

"Look, I may not live here and I may not know what it's like living like this, but I will not tolerate you insulting the military- no, insulting my father" Elina snapped. "You don't know all the soldiers in the military, you only got Yoki! Well I have met a lot of soldiers that are just like you! They have families they care for, friends they want to protect. I will not let you ruin their good names-"

"Hi!" Edward shouted. "So let's see if I can't turn those frowns upside down!"

"You leech! What do you want now?" Khayal snapped.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Alphonse whispered to Elina.

"Yeah, you kind of did" Elina growled as a dark aura surrounded her.

"Come on! Is that any way to talk to your new boss, landlord, and all around over seer?" Edward grinned.

"Over seer? What the hell are-"Some guy yelled before getting a paper shoved in his face.

"As you can see, I hold in mine the title deed to the mine, trade routes, and the entire town of Youswell!" Ed grinned.

"This idiot's going to get himself killed!" Elina muttered.

"What?" Halling asked with a jaw dropped.

"In other words, pretty much everything around here belongs to me, now. You follow?" Ed smiled at the confused looks of the group. "However, I have to be getting back to my busy life in Central. I'm not even sure this is worth carrying to the city with me! It's so heavy!"

"So, you're going to try to sell back to us for a profit" Halling snapped.

"You bet!" Edward grinned. "And it ain't gonna be cheap, to use your phrase! You remember equivalent exchange, don't you? After all, not only is this deed written on high grade parchment, it's got gold leaves trim on the edges! It comes in a box decorated with finely crushed jade in a nonchalant yet luxurious design! Oh yeah, this is craftsmanship and the keys, sterling silver!" Edward grin grew wider. "I'd say it's gotta be around 300K!"

"300?" Halling asked, confused. "The deed to Youswell?"

"That's all?" A man asked. "Really?"

"Hey Ed" Elina said smiling. "I thought we needed a few rooms for the night. Am I wrong?"

"Nope, we do need a place to stay." Ed agreed. "Now that I think about it, the rooms at the inn cost about 3 thousand. We'll spend the night and let's call it even!"

"Huh, equivalent exchange" Halling smirked.

"But our inn was destroyed last night" Khayal pointed out.

"Really, then what's that over there?" Ed asked, nudging towards a brand new version of the wooden inn.

"It's new again!" Halling's wife smiled.

"Like magic but real!" Halling awed. Ed walked over to Halling and handed him the deed.

"So this should cover our stay here, right?" Ed asked.

"Yes, of course Ed." Halling nodded.

"Good! It's an even trade!" Ed smiled.

"But Ed, what about Yoki?" Elina asked "How did you get that from him?"

"It's a long story-"Ed was interrupting by the sound of screeching tires.

"ELRIC! WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Yoki yelled as he held a pile of coal to his chest. "ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE GOLD BARS YOU GAVE ME TURNED TO STONE!"

"Never mind" Elina smirked.

"Gold bars?" Ed asked, playing dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't toy with me! I traded you that deed in exchange for a mountain of gold bars!" Yoki argued.

"No, I'm pretty sure you handed it over to me free of charge, didn't you?" Ed asked as he took out a piece of paper with Yoki's signature. "At least that's what it says on the letter!"

"No!" Yoki cried. "You swindled me, you little-!"

"Why not call a gift, since swindle is such an ugly word?" Elina smiled.

"THE TRANSACTIONS INVALID! LYRA!" Yoki yelled as a bright light appeared behind him. Lyra aimed straight for Ed, who dashed away from the inn. Elina ran up beside Edward, her hands in her pockets.

"'Alchemists be thou for the people'. That's our motto!" Ed yelled. "If you really want to be like me, then you'll take that to heart!"

"But you are an alchemist of the state! How can you defy the military you serve?" Lyra yelled. Edward held up his automail as Lyra fired her attack, which tore off his glove and some of his sleeve.

"Because last time I checked, you have the choice to sell your will, not your soul!" Elina called. "And Ed's soul is right where it belongs!"

Lyra began charging her attack once more. Ed began charging towards Lyra, putting a blade on his automail in the process. Before Lyra could launch her attack, Edward cut the chain of her necklace. Lyra fell to the ground, refusing to look at Edward.

"You cursed boy!" Yoki yelled "SEIZE THE DEED FROM-"

Yoki's jaw dropped as he saw his men cowering in front of the miners. "Sorry sir" One soldier apologized. While Ed's back was turned, Lyra grabbed her charm, performing the transmutation without Ed's attention. As Ed turned around, he braced himself for an attack, but it never came. Elina threw from her pocket a small, handheld dagger which sliced the necklace in half, destroying the transmutation circle inside the necklace. One half was pinned against a wall on the inn, while the other half was on the ground.

"You really don't give up, do you?" Elina chuckled. "Why not use that determination to help people? It's never too late to change!"

Lyra turned away as she accepted Elina's hand and rose to her feet. Yoki, on the other hand, was in some big trouble himself since two miners came behind him.

"Now we're gonna do to you physically what you've been doing to us financially for years!" One of the miners grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"Never under estimate the strength of a coal mining man, lieutenant" Another grinned just as evilly.

* * *

Inside the inn, almost everyone was holding a beer and laughing along with a certain alchemist. The warm atmosphere and laughter had brought everyone up from their sorrows, but then again, so did the deed.

While Ed drank a glass of juice, all the miners pushed their drinks towards him, laughing. Beside Edward was Alphonse who, even though he couldn't eat or drink, was having a good time as well.

"Hey, brother?" Alphonse said, getting Ed's attention.

"Yeah, Al?"

"Where's Elina?"

"Oh, she went straight to bed" Ed laughed. "I don't think she's used to the life of a state alchemist"

Inside one of the inn's rooms was Elina, asleep with her head on a book instead of a pillow. Even if she was asleep, a soft humming could be heard from her. Her key still remained around her throat as she slept through the happiness and laughter going on below her. The song she softly hummed in her sleep continued.

 _Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes and when they open, the sun will rise._  
 _Here it's safe, and here it's warm, here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true,_  
 _Here is the place where I love you._

* * *

 **3 years later –**

"Edward Elric? Ya I've heard of him!" The driver of a desert car smiled. Inside the car was Edward, Alphonse, and Elina. Everyone inside the car was awake, except for Elina who fell asleep, once again, on another book she was reading.

"So what do you know about the guy?" Edward asked, despite him being the person they were discussing.

"Well, what they say about him is even though he's one of those state alchemists guys, he's still a friend to the common man!" The driver explained. Edward grinned at his own success.

"Wow! He must be a man of great stature then, huh?"

"Actually, I hear he's surprisingly short, like a dwarf or something" The driver admitted. Edward's eyes darkened as he began shaking the driver.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN DWARF?!" Edward yelled as the car shook, waking Elina.

"Stop that, brother!" Alphonse said.

"Ed, what are you doing?!" Elina shouted. Soon the car hit a hole as Ed continued to chase the cab driver.

"COME BACK HERE!" Ed screamed, chasing the poor driver.

"That's the third one!" Elina complained as she ran after the boys while tying her hair up with a ribbon. With her hair up, she straightened her white messenger bag and quickly caught up to Alphonse.

"Brother! If you keep scaring away cab drivers, we'll never reach Lior!" Alphonse called. "You need to control your temper!"

"Believe me, Al. We both know his temper will always get to him" Elina sighed. "Let's focus on not losing him!"

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. Next will be an update for A Purple Ribbon.**

 **Before you ask, with this fanfiction my plan is for the audience (You guys) to try to piece together Elina's story. Diana already gave away a huge chunk, now it's up to you guys! If you have a guess or any questions, I will be glad to private message you. Just no spoiling in the comments! Thanks again and I'll see you next time!**

 **Jackie C.A.**

 **P.S In honor of Hunger Games (Which, no offence, isn't my favorite series) I edited something last minute. I found a cover of Rue's Lullaby and loved it SOOOO much that I included it for all the Hunger Games fans. I plan to include at least 4 or 5 lullabies in this series once it really gets started.**


	3. Sands of the Damned

**Hello, hello my good people! I am still rewriting A Purple Ribbon (I may change the name, depending on what I decide) but I have about 3 or 4 chapters for this story ready to go, unfortunately, I am releasing them over time. Now I know it's awful of me to make you wait, but I'm managing as best as I can without a computer. Bear with me, guys. Anyways, enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER GOES HERE, BUT I'M TOO TIRED TO TYPE IT**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Sands of the Damned**

* * *

"Man, I hate deserts" Edward moaned. "It's nothing but sand!" Edward plopped face first onto the sand. "If there was grass I could turn it into bread, I'm starving!"

"Well if you hadn't chased away those cab drivers, then we could've been in Liore by now!" Elina scolded. Elina tied her hair up in an effort to keep herself cool, but to no avail.

"Why are you blaming me? Last I checked, you just slept in the car!" Ed shouted.

"At least I didn't chase a cab driver because of a-"

"Don't say it!"

"-Short temper" Elina finished.

"Why you-?!" Ed growled as he got on all fours, looking around. "Hey, where's Al?"

"Oh crap! Did he go ahead?" Elina asked, looking around. "Alphonse!"

"Al! Where'd you go? Hey!" Ed shouted.

"Down here!" A soft voice called. Suddenly, a hand reached from the ground and grabbed Edward's ankle, scaring the daylights out of both Edward and Elina. The pair recognized the voice as Al's, but were scared none the less. "I sunk again"

"Reason number two, why I hate the desert!" Ed complained.

"Poor Al, it must be tough to stay above the sand with that hollow armor!" Elina cooed as she took deep breaths, recovering from the scare.

"Poor Ed has to dig him up" Ed muttered.

"What am I, chopped liver?!"

"Might as well be! It's not like you do anything!"

"Uh, guys?" Alphonse called, waving his hand from the ground as the pair argued.

Soon, a mountain of sand was off to the side and Alphonse was out, once again. The pair that had dug him out was ready to throw in the towel.

"Geez! How long does it take to get to Liore?" Elina whined as she dusted the sand off her outfit. "This is getting old!"

"I don't understand why you keep falling in!" Ed yelled at his little brother.

"I get full!" Alphonse replied.

"FULL OF WHAT?!" Ed yelled as he got ready to kick the armor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were-"Elina's advice came too late as Edward kicked the armor, whose chest plate came off, dumping all the sand inside him onto to Ed, burying the alchemist. "-you. Al is hollow and we're in the desert. What did you think he was full of?"

Alphonse began laughing and Elina followed soon after. Muffled words came from the pile as Elina and Alphonse backed away and began running. Edward threw all the sand off of himself and began chasing the pair.

"GET BACK HERE!" Ed yelled.

"What are you going to do?!" Al yelled back.

"NOTHING!"

"Knowing your short temper, I doubt that!" Elina laughed as she kept running.

"I'M NOT SHORT DAMMIT!" Ed shouted. "STOP RUNNING!"

"What are you planning?!" Elina laughed.

"STOP AND YOU'LL FIND OUT!"

"I promise I won't get buried again!" Alphonse pleaded.

"NOT UNLESS IT'S BY ME!"

"Ed!" Alphonse yelled.

"Just keep running, Al! Maybe he'll get tired!"

'NOT ON MY WATCH!"

"Edward!" The pair yelled.

* * *

The little town of Liore was certainly a warm place, both in temperature and atmosphere. As the trio walked through the streets, people everywhere were smiling, except for one particular alchemist.

"You okay, brother?" Al asked as he brother swayed back and forth while walking.

"It's your fault for not stopping when I said, you and Elina" Ed groaned.

"Because someone chasing you wouldn't raise a red flag in your head" Elina chuckled.

"Shut up!" Ed whined. "I'm too tired to fight!"

Elina covered her nose in disgust as a strong scent hit her like a truck. "Ugh! What is that?!" Elina coughed as the trio heard the noise of running water.

"Water… I can almost hear it! Wait a sec… I can hear it!" Ed groaned as he sniffed the air and began running towards a fountain. "Guys, look!"

"Ed, wait!" Al called.

"I don't think that's-"Elina tried to say as the smell got worse.

"Water, water, water! Yahoo!" Ed cheered until he got close to the fountain. "Guess that explains the nasty stench in the air!"

"Elina, are you okay?" Alphonse asked. Elina only nodded as Alphonse got closer to the fountain and saw his brother's sour face. "What's wrong?"

Ed grabbed one of the cups hanging off the edge of the fountain and dipped it into the red water. "Is it blood?" Alphonse asked.

"Who drinks blood from a fountain?" Elina asked in between her coughs.

"It's more like blood red wine" Ed said. Suddenly, a man started yelling and Ed was grabbed by the jacket by an older man.

"HEY! Get away from there! You know that's off limits to kids!"

* * *

"You're out of towners! That explains it! You'll have to forgive me! I thought you were trying to sneak a little dip!" The older man laughed as he handed Ed a glass of juice, while Elina was drinking a glass herself.

"Fountain stocked with free wine? That's pretty ritzy!" Ed smiled. "This town must be loaded!"

"Yeah, we do alright" The man admitted. Elina took a deep breath as she set her glass on the counter. "You okay? You were coughing pretty badly, sweetheart"

"I'm fine, thanks for the drink!" Elina smiled.

"Why did you start coughing? Are you allergic to the wine or something?" Alphonse asked.

"Oh no, it's not an allergy, more like I have a very low tolerance to those kind of things. You should see me when I take aspirin! Then you can be worried." Elina explained with a chuckle.

"You're allergic to aspirin?" Ed asked with a questioning look.

"Yeah, it was an accident how I found out though. When I was little I got sick and had a really bad headache, so my father gave me aspirin thinking it would help"

"Did you have a reaction?" Alphonse asked.

"Like hell, I did! At first I thought it was the flu, but when I noticed a little rash on my throat, that was when me and my father connected the dots" Elina smiled. "I can take other medicine, just not aspirin"

"I don't know about you, but that's the first I've heard of an allergy for medicine!" The shop owner laughed. "Oh, almost forgot. Time for a little soulful!"

The shop owner flipped a switch and his radio began playing and filling the area. Everyone was silent as the music did the work. Once the music ended, a man started talking and the trio all had looks of confusion.

" **Children of god who live upon this land, pray in faith that ye may be saved. As the sun lights the day, the sun god, Leto, will illuminate thy path and drown out thy sorrows…** "

"Well that's freakish" Ed muttered.

"That's not very nice, Ed" Elina lectured. "You should respect people's beliefs"

"Yeah, whatever" Ed sighed as he drank his juice. The shop owner put his hands on his hips.

"Your buddy's wearing a suit of armor, the girl over here is allergic to medicine-"

"Aspirin" Elina corrected the shop owner.

"- You're wearing gloves in the desert and you call us freaks?" Ed ignored the man and kept drinking his juice, like nothing was said. "What's your deal anyway? You street performers?"

Ed spit his juice while Elina chuckled at the sentence, not enough to cause a commotion, but enough to see that she found the sentence funny. "I don't think so pops! Do I look like a clown to you?" Ed snapped.

"Well you must have some reason to journey out this far" The shop owner insisted.

"We're just researchers that are looking for something" Elina smiled. "The only thing Ed can do is lose his temper!" This time, even Alphonse began laughing.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Ed rolled his eyes. "Who is this guy on your air waves?"

"Why, that's sir Cornelio" The shop owner answered.

"Doesn't ring a bell" Edward shrugged.

"You're kidding me! You've never heard of the great prophet Cornelio?!" The shop owner yelled.

"What's great about him?" Ed asked.

"He can perform miracles for one thing, I've never seen anything like it!" One man smirked, holding up his filled beer glass.

"This town was a god forsaken dust ball before Cornelio got here and transformed it into a desert paradise!" Another man joined in. Soon, a small crowd gathered around the trio.

"Cornelio can even forgive sins!"

"Yeah! We're on the sun god's good side because of him! He gives us blessings!"

Edward covered his ears, obviously annoyed. "I just remembered! We have to be somewhere!" Ed looked at Elina and Alphonse. "Ready to split?"

"Yeah, okay" Al agreed. Elina jumped out of her chair, smiling.

"I say we explore a little-" Before Elina could finish, Alphonse got up and hit his head on the ceiling, causing the radio, that was sitting on the roof, to fall onto the ground and smash.

"Oops" Alphonse said, nervously.

"Now you've done it, buddy!" The shop owner said, angrily. "What do you expect wearing a stupid tin suit?!"

"Don't bust a lung, grandpa! We can fix it!" Ed assured.

"It's in a thousand pieces!" The man shouted.

"That's not a problem for us!" Elina smiled as she walked over to Alphonse. "Want some help fixing it?"

"No thanks, I got it" Alphonse nodded as he took out a piece of chalk and began drawing a circle on the ground. When the circle was almost complete, Elina moved the broken pieces of radio onto the circle, careful not to miss any pieces. With the pieces on the circle, Alphonse made some little corrections before standing up.

"That drawing, what's it for?" The shop owner asked.

"You'll see in just a second. It's called a transmutation circle" Ed explained.

"Okay, here goes!" Alphonse muttered. Elina stepped aside as Alphonse overlapped his hands, placing them over the circle, as sparks flew from them and onto the radio. A cloud of dust covered the radio. As the dust settled, the voice from before began speaking once more.

" **If you are lost, follow me and you will be found. If you are scared, take refuge...** "

"It's really a land of prophets! You and your buddies can perform miracles like Cornelio!" The shop owner awed.

"Far from!" Elina laughed. "We're just some traveling alchemists!"

"We're the Elric brothers and this is our friend, Elina Fosther" Ed grinned. "Not to brag or anything, but we're pretty well known!" The crowd looked confused.

"Elrics? Not familiar"

"We don't have any alchemists in these parts"

"I fix things for a living, though! Let me know if you need a job"

A woman the trio hadn't noticed before spoke out. "He doesn't need any work, that's Edward Elric, the Fullmetal alchemist" The woman looked at the trio. Elina got a bad feeling from the woman, as if she was a criminal hiding. "He's been a celebrity around East City. They say he's a real child prodigy"

People began crowding around Alphonse, as a result from the woman's explanation.

"Wow, a real live famous person!"

"I see, you got the name Fullmetal because you wear that armor!"

"Hey, would you come to my daughter's birthday party?"

"Uh, I'm not the Fullmetal alchemist, he is!" Alphonse explained, holding his hands up. Everyone in the crowd looked towards Ed.

"You mean that little shorty, there?" A man asked. A tick mark appeared on Ed's forehead as he grabbed two of the customers and began swinging them around.

"SHORTY? COULD A SHORTY DO THIS?! WHAT ELSE YOU WANT TO CALL ME, A HALF PINT, BEACH BALL, MIDGET?! I'M STILL GROWING YOU BACK WATERED, DESERT IDIOTS!" Edward screamed. Elina sat there, drinking another glass of juice with a blank expression.

 _I've known him for three years and he still can't control his temper_ Elina thought as she stared at the scene in complete boredom.

"I can see there's plenty of excitement around here, today!" A voice said, cheerfully. A woman with tanned skin and pink bangs approached the shop holding a grocery bag. Edward saw the woman and froze.

"Ah, Rose!" The shop owner smiled.

"Don't mind me! I'd hate to spoil all the fun!" Rose smiled. Alphonse stood up straight and bowed.

"That's okay! My name is Alphonse Elric! Nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Edward, Al's older brother" Ed smirked as he dropped the men and pointed to himself. "Also known as the Fullmetal alchemist"

"Older brother? But shouldn't it be the other way around?" Rose asked as Ed's face grew darker.

"You'd be surprised!" Elina smiled. "I'm Elina Fosther. I've been travelling with these two for three years. Don't' mind Ed, he may be older, but Alphonse is more mature"

"Good to know!" Rose smiled at Elina.

"Hey Rose, have you finished your shopping for today's offering?" The shop owner asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah" Rose nodded.

"Well then, maybe you can take them to temple with you" The shop owner suggested. "They say they're looking for something. I bet father Cornelio could help out, you know, have them ask for God's grace"

"Oh no, uh… That's okay! We don't really-"Alphonse panicked.

"Calm down, Al!" Elina chuckled.

"It's alright if you don't have an offering today, besides he has rooms for travelers. You can stay there tonight" Rose offered.

"Thanks, but uh-"

"As a matter of fact, we'd love to take you up on that, wouldn't we?" Ed asked with a grin as he turned to his companions.

"I say we go for it!" Elina smiled.

"Then it's settled!" Edward grinned.

"We would? You mean you want to?" Al asked, confused at his brother's actions. Ed nodded his head, smiling.

"What are we waiting for?" Elina laughed as she ran ahead. The brothers followed Rose as Elina ran in front of them, looking around and laughing.

"Hey, Al" Ed said, getting his brother's attention. "Remember that woman at the shop? She knew me, have we met before?"

"No, I don't think so" Al admitted. From ahead, Elina tripped before jumping up, as if nothing happened.

"I'm okay!" Elina shouted to no one in particular. The brothers sighed at their goofy friend, who was supposed to be 14.

"Geez, you'd think she was six" Edward muttered.

"She's never seen the desert, I would let her be." Al shrugged.

"You shouldn't worry" Rose said out of nowhere. "I'm sure Cornelio will find what you're looking for. And besides," Ed looked at Rose, questionably. "If you show him you're faithful, I bet he can make you grow taller!"

Edward snapped and began chasing Rose as she giggled. "What's wrong with you people?! I'm not short! You come from a desert tribe of giants or something!"

"Edward, please!" Al pleaded.

"You want some of this too?!" Ed threatened. The group passed Elina, which confused her as she began to run.

"Wait for me!" Elina whined as she ran to catch up with the group.

* * *

"Hey, Ed. If the Philosopher's stone really exists, then why hasn't it been found?" Elina asked as she read her book. Alphonse was nowhere to be found since he had left the room earlier, so Elina was stuck with Edward, who was sitting by the window. From the window, Ed and Elina could see Rose in front of a grave.

"I don't know. Maybe it's something you make, not find." Edward shrugged.

"Then how do you make one?" Elina questioned.

"That's what we're researching, Elina." Edward groaned. As soon as Elina closed her book in frustration, Alphonse entered the room.

"I spoke to Rose" Alphonse admitted. "That grave belongs to her boyfriend. He was all she had, her parents died when she was a little girl. She's convinced Cornelio can bring him back to life"

"But he can't!" Elina shouted. "Why would he do that?"

"He's leading her on and making her think he can do it" Ed grimaced. Elina clenched her fists and Edward looked down, both of them fuming with anger.

"Well, maybe he can" Alphonse suggested. Elina and Edward's eyes went to Alphonse in a snap. "What if Cornelio really is a holy man? Those scripters. Maybe there is something else out there, something we can't explain."

"Don't count on it!" Ed muttered as he looked outside and saw that Cornelio and another man joined Rose in front of her boyfriend's grave.

"Al, you know better than anyone, you can't disrupt the flow of life." Elina said, softly. "What's dead is dead, you can't change that and you know it, as much as it hurts. Time doesn't heal wounds, it only helps us bear them and move on"

"I know" Alphonse sighed. "I was just…"

"It's okay" Elina smiled. "Just don't get your hopes up if you already know the answer"

* * *

The crowd screamed at the top of their lungs as Cornelio lifted up a glass of water and transformed it into red wine. Edward stood on top of his suitcase while Elina stood on top of a little hill she made, with Ed's help. Alphonse was so tall that he could see Cornelio clearly, over the crowd. Cornelio then walked over to a log and transformed it into a stone statue of Leto, Liore's sun god. Cornelio's ring flashed and glowed every time he performed a "miracle". The trio of alchemists looked unconvinced.

"I'm going to take a random guess and say we're all thinking the same thing" Elina shrugged.

"Your guess is right. It's obvious he's using alchemy" Alphonse agreed. Ed looked at Cornelio, thinking.

"Even so, something's wrong. It's not equal-"

"Hey guys!" A familiar voice spoke as Rose approached the trio. "How are you liking your first miracle gathering? He's amazing, isn't he?"

"Well, he's an amazing actor, I'll give him that, but those aren't miracles. He's swindling you" Edward stated bluntly. Rose gave him a glare as Elina jumped down from her hill.

"Now Ed, we don't know that. We just know he's using alchemy and ignoring the laws" Alphonse clarified.

"What laws?" Rose snapped.

"Though alchemy may seem like magic, there's some laws you have to abide by. If you ignore them, things can go bad really quickly. Alchemy is not something you learn overnight, it's a science that needs to be used carefully" Elina explained. Edward hopped off his suitcase, continuing Elina's explanation.

"Elina's right. Alchemy is a science and you don't make things out of thin air. In chemistry a reaction has to be balanced, so does alchemy" Ed finished. Rose looked angry and confused.

"It's an equation, Rose. Your output has to have equal mass and materials you started with" Alphonse explained. "The base elements have to be similar too, like the radio I fixed. I couldn't make it bigger or a tree or something"

"If you break it down even further, you can say it's like building something. If you combine those materials, then they have to equal the mass of your final product. If something is broken and you use alchemy to fix it, the extra material has to come from somewhere, whether you place more material or thin out the original." Elina smiled. "Alchemists just call it equivalent exchange"

"It's our founding principle: To obtain, something of equal value must be lost, but that holy bastard's totally disregarding the law" Edward muttered.

"That's because he's working miracles!" Rose snapped. In front of Cornelio was a little girl holding a dead bird. Cornelio put his hands over the bird and, with a few sparks, the bird flew out of the girl's hands and onto his shoulder. The crowd cheered once more. "What do you say now, Ed? I'll bet you can't do that with alchemy! It's a true miracle, it has to be." Rose finished with tears shining in her eyes. Elina couldn't help but feel sorry for Rose. Not only was she being lied to, but she would have to go through the grief once more when she found out.

* * *

"Where's a piano when you need one?" Elina muttered as the trio made their way down the street.

"Why would there be a piano in the middle of desert?" Edward chuckled.

"I don't know! I just want to practice. If I don't practice, I'll forget what I've learned." Elina shrugged.

"We'll probably find a piano in Central." Alphonse suggested. "I think there's one in the command center" Elina smiled.

"Nice, now if only-"The trio froze as they stopped in front of the church. Edward slowly walked in and saw Rose standing at the altar, polishing it with a rag. Edward sat down in one of the seats with Elina as Alphonse walked off.

"So, if you pray and polish the altar enough times, someone who's dead will be brought back to life?" Ed asked sarcastically. Elina could see Rose clutch her fists before turning towards them with a smile.

"Something like that" Rose smiled.

"Ed, perhaps we should let sleeping dogs lie" Elina said, tapping Edward's shoulder. Edward shot Elina a look that said _she's going to find out one way or another_ as he took out a book from his coat.

"Water 35liters, Carbon 20 kg, Ammonia 4 liters, Lime 1.5kg, Phosphorus 800 grams, salt 250 grams, saltpeter 100 grams, sulfur 80 grams, fluorine 7.5, iron 5, silicon 3 grams, and trace amounts of 15 other elements." Edward stated.

"What's that?" Rose asked, obviously scared to know the answer.

"It's the ingredients of the average adult body, down to the last speck of protein in your eyelashes." Edward explaining, snapping his book shut. "And even though science has given us the entire physical break down, there's never been a successful attempt at bringing a human back to life. There's still something missing, something that scientists haven't been able to find in centuries of research. So what makes you think that hack job priest and his parlor tricks is gonna be able to?"

Rose looked furious, like a cat that had been thrown in water. It wouldn't be long before her claws came out.

"And in case you're wondering, all of those ingredients can be bought on a child's allowance. Humans can be built pretty cheap, there's no magic to it!"

"Well if there's no magic, then you bring someone back to life!" Rose snapped.

"Just a matter of time, Rose. Science will find a way, science is the answer to everything. If I were you, I would drop the scripters and pick up an alchemy book. We're the closest things to gods there are."

"You're not a god! You're nothing close to it!" Rose insulted as Ed walked up to the altar.

"And neither is the sun, it's just a mass of hydrogen. Get close to it like Cornelio claims and all you'll do is burn up" Ed lectured. Rose looked towards Elina, who was still standing in the same spot.

"Do you think that as well?" Rose asked. Elina looked at Rose with a serious expression.

"In all honesty, I don't. I wasn't raised with facts, I was raised more on beliefs and experience." Elina shrugged as she sat down. "I'll give you the same advice I gave Alphonse; you can't disrupt the flow of life. What's dead now will stay dead, no matter how much effort you put in trying to deny that fact. Time doesn't heal wounds, Rose. It only makes them bearable and gives us the choice to move on. Now I suggest you make that choice-"

As the words left Elina's mouth, a gun shot fired and Al's head tumbled to the ground with his body at the doorway next to the altar. Elina ran in front of Rose, her hands gripping something under her tied jacket around her waist. Behind Al's body was a man in the church uniform, holding a gun.

"Cray! What are you doing?!" Rose shouted.

"These three enemies of god! This is his will Rose, not mine!" Cray yelled, pointing the gun at Ed while Elina guarded Rose.

"I don't think so, mister" Al's voice spoke as Cray turned around to see Al's headless body standing. Cray began backing up as he pointed the gun at Al. Edward took advantage of this and grabbed Al's head as he threw it at the back of Cray's skull, causing him to fall over.

"I got it! I got it!" Alphonse said as he caught his head, making Elina chuckle.

"Strike!" Ed cheered. A scream from Rose drew the trio's attention to her.

"He doesn't have a head!" Rose screamed.

"He doesn't have to have a head to be Al!" Elina smiled.

"Please don't be scared, Rose. This is how I am" Alphonse pleaded with a bow, showing his hollow armor.

"You're not there!" Rose pointed out. Al began to attach his head.

"It's true, I don't have a body, but I'm here. This is my punishment for setting foot on holy ground where mortals are forbidden. We made a mistake, Rose and we're paying for it"

Rose screamed as she ran like the devil was at her heels. "Rose wait!" Ed yelled, but was ignored.

"I would love to beat the crap out of the bastard who did this to you guys!" Elina growled with a clenched fist.

"Oh, trust me, you don't want to meet him" Ed assured. "Come on! We have to go after her!"

"So now we're stalkers?" Elina chuckled.

"Elina, now is not the time for jokes!" Ed scolded as the trio began running after Rose. Soon the trio reached a large room with dim lighting. "I can't see a church social down here, can you?"

On the ledge, way above the ground, was Rose. "There she is!" Ed pointed out. Cornelio came from a side door and stood right next to Rose.

"There's the swindler" Elina muttered.

""You have wrestled with the darkness and prevailed Rose, thank you for bringing them here" Cornelio said with false gratitude as the room lit up. "State alchemists, brutal in forces. I had a feeling one of you would show up someday!"

"If you knew we'd come, then you must know what we want!" Elina smirked. Cornelio lifted his hand, showing off his ring.

"Do you mean this, young lady?" Cornelio asked. Elina flinched at the nick name. Edward grinned.

"I knew it! Alchemy without a transmutation circle, completely ignoring the principle of equivalent exchange! It could only mean one thing!"

"Yes, the mythical gem, the legendary amplifier, the Philosopher's stone." Cornelio stated.

"That's it, Al. It's ours" Ed muttered. "Cough it up, Cornelio! That stone belongs to me now and if you hand it over peacefully, I won't tell the people here what you've been doing!"

"What's that? Repairing their town to peace and prosperity? You know what would happen if my miraculous miracles suddenly stopped? Nobody wants that." Cornelio smirked.

"There's the result of your big ego, Ed! Can't anyone say please anymore?" Elina sighed.

"This isn't a play date where you just ask for a toy to play with, Elina!" Ed lectured.

"Do they, Rose?" Cornelio asked a terrified Rose.

"Don't listen to him, Rose! He's just a con man!" Edward yelled.

"Nonsense!" Cornelio insisted. "Would a con man restore life to a dying town? When I arrived this town was full of strife and I brought peace. They came to me with parched throats and I created water. I built buildings for them and even gave them money. They believed heaven had forsaken them, but I gave them hope and became their prophet. Why does the military want to destroy all this?"

"I don't care what the military wants!" Edward shouted. "I'm here for me!"

"What?" Cornelio asked.

"I need that stone…" Edward yelled. "We need it to make something right again!"

"So that's it!" Rose yelled. "This is all about you and what you want! What about us? You don't care!"

"Don't say that!" Elina yelled. "These boys and been through hell and back! What gives you the right to say they don't care?! We could've killed Cornelio and taken the stone the first night we met him, but we didn't!-"

"It's no use, Elina" Edward said, putting his arm in front of her. Rose stepped back, looking at the ground.

"Enough, there is no point in arguing. If you want the philosopher's stone, you'll have to take it from me!" Cornelio shouted as the stone glowed and the ground beneath the trio turned into sand, burying Alphonse almost immediately.

"Alphonse!" Elina shouted. "Don't worry! We'll be there soon! Just hang on!"

"Armor is a disadvantage in soft sand" Cornelio pointed out. "You can draw transmutation circles in it, either!" Cornelio pressed a switch behind him and the sound of a door opening rang in the room. "Let me introduce you to one of my creations. You of all people should appreciate this: a chimera!"

An animal with the top half of a black and white lion and the bottom half of a lizard stumbled outside it's container with red eyes. Elina ran after Alphonse, digging him out as best as she could. She only had time to dig the first half of him out of the sand before heading back to help Ed.

"Nice to know you torture more than one soul." Elina grimaced. "I seriously wonder how you sleep at night."

The animal roared as it charged towards Ed and Elina. Elina grabbed something from her pocket and slipped them on her hands. "Alright big fella, you want to play? Let's go for it!" Ed smirked as he clapped his hands, blue sparks flying, and began forming a spear from the sand.

"H-how did you do that without a transmutation circle?" Cornelio asked. Edward attacked the creature with his spear, throwing it off him. Cornelio grabbed the bird on his shoulder and threw it. "Bring me their heads, my pet!" The bird began glowing red as it more than tripled its size.

The bird grabbed Ed's spear, snapping it in multiple pieces. Ed panicked as the bird grabbed his left leg. "Now snap it!" Cornelio ordered.

"Wrong leg pal!" Ed smirked as the creature's claws snapped off.

"Ed! Get out of there!" Elina called. Ed looked towards her and smirked as he kicked his way out of the bird's grip. The fingerless gloves Elina had slipped on began to glow green as Elina clapped her hands. Green sparks flew from her hands as she slammed them onto the ground and caused a giant pillar of stone to crash into the bird, knocking it out of commission, permanently. "Good, they still work after all these years!"

"Elina! Watch out!" Edward yelled as he ran towards her. Elina turned around and saw the lion charging towards her. With no time to protect herself Elina fell back and held up her arms, with a scream. Elina braced herself, but the pain never came. Elina opened her eyes and saw that Edward was in front of her, holding out his right arm as the chimera chewed on it with no success.

"What's the matter, you poor bastard? Can't get a good taste?" Ed muttered as he lifted his arm and threw off the giant cat before delivering one final blow with his left leg. Edward turned around and helped Elina to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Elina nodded.

"That's impossible!" Cornelio yelled. "The claws on your leg, the teeth on your arm! No one could survive that! Unless... Your limbs! They're fake!"

"Brilliant deduction!" Ed snapped as he began ripping the sleeve of his right arm.

"Oh god…" Rose muttered as she looked at Ed's arm.

"Don't look away Rose! You need to see what happens when you try to bring a human back to life! When you cross into god's territory or whatever the hell it is! Is this what you want?! Look!" Ed yelled as he took off his coat entirely, exposing his right automail arm.

"His arm… His leg… they're machines!" Rose muttered.

"I see, now I understand you Elric." Cornelio smiled. "You crossed the line, you did what was strictly forbidden. You tried to create human life and your bodies were taken to the other side!"

"Told you, Rose. You get too close to the sun and you burn" Edward said as Rose stood there, speechless.

"Apparently so, but you were crazy enough to find out for yourself!" Cornelio shouted. "You are the Fullmetal… The Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"He told you that a long time ago, Cornelio. Maybe your age is getting to you, old man" Elina smirked as she Cornelio flinch.

"Quiet little girl!" Cornelio snapped. "Well that does solve a riddle, why the military would give a punk like you such a stern name 'Fullmetal'? But it's literal! See Rose, alchemists forbid their own from transforming lead into gold, but there's one practice more taboo. A technique forbidden by man and nature itself, Alchemy… on human souls. You miserable little boys… dabbling with human alchemy without knowing its penalties, YOU STEPPED ON THE TOES OF GOD-!"

"You don't know the story!" Al shouted.

"AL" Ed muttered. Alphonse stepped back.

"But… We just wanted… We just wanted to see mom's face again, see her smile" Al sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Al" Elina said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, not remembering he couldn't feel it.

"But you failed, didn't you?" Cornelio asked, evilly.

"Yeah, I'd label that a failure alright" Ed muttered. "Al lost his whole body and an arm and a leg. I ignored every sign posted because I was reckless and wanted it bad enough! Rose, this is what happens when you bring back what's dead! You really want to go through with that?!"

Cornelio put his hand on Rose's shoulder. "Don't let them worry you, Rose. You forget that the great Sun God, Leto has blessed me with the Philosopher's stone. Besides, I have far more experience than these heretic boys did!"

"Don't be stupid!" Edward yelled. "No matter what kind of powers you have, some things can't be done!"

"Besides, I doubt you could do anything without that stone!" Elina chuckled. "Poor Cornelio needs training wheels!"

"If you're so advanced, then why are you so anxious to get your hands on the stone?" Cornelio asked. "You want to beat the laws of equivalence, just as I do, and bring your mommy back!"

"Wrong holy man!" Ed snapped. Cornelio looked confused. "All we want is to get our bodies normal again. See, we don't buy what's possible, we didn't start a cult."

"We will ask one more; please give us the stone" Alphonse demanded.

"Once you hand it over, we'll be out of your hair. Simple as that" Elina smirked.

"You are damned, state alchemist. May the wrath of god fall upon your head" Cornelio smirked.

"You still think we believe that crap?!" Elina groaned. "This is getting old!"

"Get down here and I'll show you some wrath!" Edward threatened. Sparks flew from behind Cornelio as Rose backed away.

"SINNERS!" Cornelio yelled as he pulled a mini-gun from behind his back and began firing. Elina felt someone grab her as she was shielded from the bullets. When the dust settled, Elina saw it was Alphonse who had pulled her behind a wall made from alchemy. Ed's hand was still on the wall as sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Close call" Edward said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Father Cornelio!" Someone called as the trio turned around to see a group of Leto worshippers at the entrance. The one who had shouted was none other than Cray. "You!" Cray said as he grabbed a gun from his coat and began shouting Alphonse, who was putting his arms up as defense. Elina thought quickly as she gripped something from under her jacket and held it out. The item was a small silver pistol that rang out as Elina pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting Cray in the shoulder.

"That's what you get!" Elina snapped.

"Hey guys!" Edward called out as he ran to one of the walls. "This way!"

"Idiots! You're running into a dead end!" Cornelio yelled. Elina and Al followed Edward to the wall, knowing what Ed was thinking.

"Well like I always say, if you can't find a door, make your own!" Ed grinned as he clapped his hands and set them on the wall, sparks flying. Soon a large black door, with bull horns as the knobs, appeared. The trio ran out the door, running as fast as they could out of the building and onto the streets.

* * *

The trio finally slowed down as the guards disappeared from their sights. Elina had collapsed while they were running, so she was currently get a piggy-back ride from Alphonse, due to the fact that the boy couldn't get tired. The sound of humming was easy to spot since it was late at night. Edward finally sat down at one of the Leto statues, noticing the humming fairly quickly.

"Hey Al, are you humming?" Ed asked. Alphonse shook his head.

"No, Elina's humming in her sleep" Alphonse chuckled. "Listen"

Edward walked closer and sure enough, Elina was humming a soft tune.

"We'll have to ask Elina about this." Alphonse suggested. "She's hums this when she's sleeping"

"How do you know that?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I found out a little while after we met her, she would hum this on the train when she fell asleep." Alphonse admitted. Edward thought for a minute, remembering moments when Elina would fall asleep.

"You're right" Ed agreed. "I guess we'll ask her-"

" **People of Lior, this evening a group of unbelievers tried to take the life of the great prophet, Cornelio. One is short and blonde, another is wearing armor and the last one is a small girl with chestnut hair. Cornelio asks you all to stay in your homes. He's worried for the safety of his followers. Please, take all necessary precautions** "

Ed and Al looked at each other. "What are we going to do?" Al asked. "Elina's still asleep and they'll look for us if we're missing!"

"Don't worry, I got a plan. Just find a way to get Cornelio's recording equipment to me." Ed smirked.

"What about Elina?" Al asked. Edward clapped his hands and set them on the Leto statue behind him. When the dust settled, the statue looked just like Alphonse.

"Okay, put Elina on the statue. She'll be mad, but we'll deal with that later" Edward said nervously as he thought of Elina surrounded by fire.

"Sorry, Elina!" Alphonse whispered as he set the girl in the fake armor's hands. Elina stirred, but didn't wake up, much to Ed's relief. Ed froze as he heard the sound of an angry mob get closer.

"Okay, get going!" Ed ordered. Alphonse ran towards an alley, disappearing in the darkness, as the angry mob got closer to Edward. Soon, the mob surrounded the pair and fake armor.

"No question, guys! They're the ones! The short newcomers and their tin can!" One man shouted.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MOUSY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK?!" Edward yelled in the man's face.

"NOBODY SAID THAT! Now back off!" The man argued. "We've got more important business to settle!"

Edward scratched his head as the people threw insults left and right.

"What kind of deprived souls are you?! How could you go after the prophet?!"

"We welcomed you here, you made us believe you were good!" One woman yelled.

Edward sighed. "Look lady, I never asked you to believe anything, that's your priest! He's a phony! He's just using alchemy!"

"Liar!" A familiar voice spoke as the crowd cleared a path, revealing Rose. "Just now, my boyfriend spoke to me. Cornelio's bringing him back"

"You mean old Cain we lost in the accident? He was a good kid! Good for you, Rose!" One man shouted as Rose returned a smile.

"You see? He's not the first either! There have been many others who've come back!"

"She's right!"

"Rose?" a small voice muttered with a yawn. Edward turned around to see Elina, waking up. "Ed, what's going on?"

 _Aw crap_ Ed thought as Elina looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Well, you see-"

Ed stopped as the ground rumbled. The crowd split in two as giant Leto statues began approaching Ed and Elina. The crowd awed as the statues walked liked regular people. Soon the statues had the pair surrounded as a smiling Cray, with a bandaged arm, emerged from the crowd. One of the statues from behind hit the decoy Al in the back, sending Elina to the ground.

"Alphonse!" Elina cried out as the statues began destroying the decoy. Elina ran at the statues, attempting to pull them away. "Get away from him!"

"Elina!" Edward tried to warn but was knocked to the ground as one of the statue hit him in the back of the head. Elina struggled to fight the statues, only to get thrown against the wall. As her vision blurred, Elina could barely see Edward being taken away and,what she thought to be, Alphonse being smashed to scrap metal.

Elina woke up to a pounding headache and chains on her hands. Beside Elina was Edward, who was also in chains. The small brick room they were in had some odd items along with low lighting.

"You really got to stop humming" Ed complained.

"Humming? What are you talking about?" Elina asked, confused.

"You hum in your sleep, it's getting annoying" Edward admitted.

"Well your temper is annoying" Elina snapped.

"Touché" Ed sighed.

The pair remained silent until the door opened and Rose came in with two trays of food with bread and soup.

"Great, you came to feed me! And I thought you were mad!" Ed joked before opening his mouth.

"I would slap you if I didn't have chains on me right now" Elina said with a dark aura surrounding her. Rose put the trays in front of the pair and dashed towards the door.

"I hope he's real, Rose. I just don't want you to get disappointed" Ed muttered as Rose dashed out the door and closed it behind her. Edward looked at Elina with sad eyes.

"Don't look at me! You're 15! I'm not feeding you!" Elina scoffed. Ed sighed as he moved the try with his feet. All of a sudden, a digging noise came from the wall. "Is that Alphonse?"

"Yep!" Ed grinned.

"Great! Can I leave now?" Elina asked as she pulled her handcuffs off with ease.

"What?! How did you-"

"I had a water canteen in my pocket. If you include the gloves I used earlier…" Elina let her sentence trail off.

"No fair!" Ed whined. "Help me get these off!"

"Depends, can I leave?"

"But what about Cornelio?"

"Make a decoy!"

"Let me out then"

"Can I leave?"

"Elina!"

"Fine!"

At that moment, a hole appeared in the wall and Al's head popped through. "Is this a bad time?"

* * *

Elina sat on a balcony as she looked at the morning sky.

" _I'll be back, I have a feeling Rose won't be safe around Cornelio anymore"_

Elina smiled as she saw Alphonse approached with Rose not far behind. "Hey there, Rose!" Elina smiled.

"Elina? But I thought-"Rose said, shocked to see her.

"Yeah, I had Ed make a decoy of me so I could leave." Elina chuckled. "It's no fun being stuck in a cell with Ed!"

Alphonse sat down and began drawing a transmutation circle. Rose looked at Elina and remembered her advice.

 _Time doesn't heal wounds, Rose. It only makes them bearable and gives us the choice to move on_

"Um, Elina?" Rose said, getting the girl's attention. "Why do you travel with Ed and Al?"

"In a way, they kind of saved me" Elina chuckled at Rose's confused expression. "You see, I was in a foster home before this. My parents were already dead and someone threatened to hurt anyone close to me if I got a new family, so I caused as much trouble as I could to keep distance between me and everyone I knew. Then Edward and Alphonse came along. They helped me get away from an unwanted life, so I help them with their research."

"If you saw Elina back then, you would be surprised, Rose." Alphonse laughed. An image of the old Elina with her hair in a braid and wearing worn down clothes came to Alphonse's mind.

"I never told them my past and they seemed okay with it, which made be happy." Elina smiled. "Believe it or not, both of the brothers have good hearts. Without them, I would still be in that foster home, or worse."

"Why do you trust Elina if you know nothing about her?" Rose asked Alphonse.

"You don't need to know someone's past to know about them." Alphonse shrugged. "I know Elina wants to erase her past, I may not think it's the best idea but if she's not ready to tell us, we're fine with that"

"And I ask for the same in return" Elina laughed. "Equivalent exchange"

"What is equivalent exchange?" Rose asked.

"It's like a scientist's version of the Ten Commandments, rules that have to be abided or there will be a lot of problems" Elina said, attempting to appeal to Rose's religious side.

"It's also Alchemy's founding principle." Al continued. "To obtain, you have to give up something of equal value. People say Ed's a prodigy, but that's just because he paid with enough effort."

"But how did you survive those statues?" Rose asked.

"That was a decoy, according to Ed, which I do not like waking up to, thank you very much!" Elina snapped. Alphonse laughed nervously.

"The two of you really have paid a hefty price, haven't you?" Rose asked. "An arm and a leg… A body… and yet here you are now, trying to get it all back. What about your mom, what happened to her?"

"I should get started" Al said with his back turned. "It's about time."

Al flipped the switch as a large noise emitted from the bell, then voices started talking.

" **What? Is it the money you're after?** "

"Edward?" Rose wondered.

" **Oh, I could get all the money I want from the offerings!** "

"And Cornelio." Elina muttered.

" **But you think too small. I'm making believers, who would gladly throw away their very lives in my name and why not? They believe I can resurrect them, they aren't afraid to die. There is no greater army than those with a holy call! Mark my words, in a few years, I'll have a following large enough to tear this country apart and rebuild in my name!** "

" **Makes no difference to me** " Edward's voice sighed.

" **What?!** "

" **Afterall, there's no real way to bring people back to life, right? Once you cut me down, I'm gone for good.** "

" **I'm afraid that's right. Even with the philosopher's stone, I wouldn't dare try human alchemy. I'd end up like you and why would a king risk his life for the sake of his mindless pawns- Wait a second.** "

The bell went silent for a moment until the sound of Cornelio's yelling blasted through, causing Elina to plug her ears.

" **WHAT?! How long has that thing been on?!** "

" **Long enough for the mindless-pawns-tearing-this country-apart comment, I think.** "

Elina couldn't stop herself as she broke into a fit of laughter.

" **How did you get my broadcasting equipment?!** "

" **Al rigged it up! I know, you smashed him into pieces, but that was just some metal I whipped up to look like him! If you think that's impressive, why don't you ask my 'partner'?** "

A pop was heard and Cornelio screamed. " **Where did that brat go?!** "

" **Pretty clever, huh? So have your followers heard enough?** "

" **No my children! He lies! Don't believe him!** " Cornelio yelled as the sound of gun shots finished the recording.

"You can't shoot away your problems, Cornelio!" Elina chuckled as she calmed down from her fit of laughter. "The truth is out!"

Elina stopped as she looked at Rose, who looked lost. Elina walked over to Rose and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Rose, it's time to make your choice." Elina spoke in a soft voice. "Will you keep living in the past? Or will you move on to the future? It's up to you."

"Why are you telling me this if you're trying to forget your past?" Rose snapped. Elina looked surprised for moment but then shrugged.

"I don't know. I still have a lot to learn myself. I just don't want you to relive the pain you've gone through all these years." Elina explained. Suddenly, the church began to rumble.

"I think we better go find brother" Al suggested.

"And I think you're right!" Elina agreed "Race you! Last one there buys dinner!"

"W-wait, what?! Elina!" Al whined as the pair began running to the front of the church with Rose not far behind. When the pair made it to the crowd in front of the church (Elina had made it first, much to Alphonse's dislike), they could see what the crowd was staring at. In front of the church, the crowd of angry townspeople was watching as a large statue of Leto, that could be seen from the back of the crowd, stood in front of Cornelio. Rose had her jaw open in awe as she looked on with the crowd.

"Rings and watches have nothing to do with it! My brother's the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Alphonse said with pride. The large statue lifted it's fists and struck it down at Cornelio as dust kicked up, covering the church. Elina ran towards the church as she heard a scream.

"STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" Edward shouted. When Elina made it to the front of the church, she saw Edward pouting and Cornelio cradling a mangled arm.

"Let me guess, another wild goose chase?" Elina asked. Ed glared as Elina bent down and ruffled Ed's hair. "Don't worry! There's always next time." Elina stood up and offered her hand to Edward. "Come on, let's keep moving. Al said he's buying dinner"

"Just another wild goose chase" Ed sulked as he dangled his watch in front of his face. "And here I thought we could finally put you back in the flesh again."

"No brother. You'll be the first we fix. That automail so tough on you" Al argued.

"Nonetheless, I think both of you deserved to be fixed!" Elina smiled. "You've both had it so hard. You guys deserve a happy ending"

"Thanks, Elina." Alphonse said as Elina grinned and sat next to the armor.

"No need to thank me! You guys saved me from an unwanted life and now I get to travel while helping you guys!"

"Well, nothing left to do but start the search again" Edward sighed as he stood up and put his watch in his pocket. Before the trio could leave, a voice stopped them.

"You should never have come here!" Elina turned around to see it was Rose. "Father Cornelio gave us hope. What right did you have to take that away? With him we believed we could do anything, even bring back the dead. We're a desert village, we had nothing before that!"

"So we should've just abandoned you? Let Cornelio use you like puppets?" Elina asked with a confused expression.

"Well why not? What do I have to live for now that I know Cain won't come back?! You tell me that!" Rose shouted.

The trio was silent until Ed spoke up. "You'll have to decide for yourself. Walk on your own, move forward. You've got a good, strong pair of legs, Rose. You should get up and use them."

Edward began walking away as Rose fell to her knees. Elina and Alphonse walked over to Rose and bent down, beside her. "Brother was trying to help. He just… doesn't always handle things well." Alphonse explained.

"Just go away, would you?" Rose snapped.

"You can still believe and hope Rose… I still do." Alphonse said.

"It's not wrong to hope, but if you know your wish isn't coming true, then find a new dream. Stop looking for the past and start looking for a future. That's what I'm trying to find." Elina said softly as she offered a hand to Al and helped him up. The pair began walking away, leaving Rose with her thoughts.

"Hey Alphonse?" Elina said. "Your mother would be proud if she saw you and Ed right now, trying to atone for your sins."

"Thank you, Elina." Alphonse sighed. "If your father saw you, I think he would be proud of how far you've come since we met you."

"Thanks Alphonse. I needed that." Elina smiled as small tears fell from her eyes. The two remained silent as they made their way to the train going to their next destination.

* * *

 **Whew! That took me FOREVER to write! Anyways, this is the beginning of their adventure! Okay, I really want to see who can guess what happened to Elina in the past since this time I'm not releasing the document til someone gets it. If no one gets it right, I will release said document a while after the story ends, so if you don't want to wait, start looking! Message me your guesses and I may give you a clue. I wish you all the best of luck!**

 **-Jackie C.A.**


	4. Thieves in Hiding

**Whew! It's been so long! It's nice to be back! And I have a surprise for you guys on the 27th! And no it's not the Purple Ribbon rewrite, that still being written. But other than my birthday, it will be something in the next chapter. :3**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Thieves in Hiding**

* * *

The sound of the train horn rang out as the sun set, disappearing to make room for the moon.

"Discarding two" Edward said as he placed two cards down with a stick, left over from his dango, in his mouth. _Great, more junk_ Ed thought as he glared at Al, who was looking at his cards. "Just discard already!"

"Oh, sorry!" Al apologized as he looked up from his cards and grabbed two from the deck. "I'll take two as well." Al looked down at his cards and gasped. "Holy…! Hey, brother, wanna double the bet?"

"Suit yourself" Edward sighed.

"Sorry, I've got a full house" Al said, deviously as he laid his cards out.

"I'm sorry, too" Edward said as he copied the action, laying out his cards as well. "Royal flush"

"No way! I'd thought for sure I'd win for once!" Al complained as he gathered the cards. "Okay, this time I'm gonna-"

"I quit! I'm bored" Ed sighed as he put his hands behind his head.

"Bored?! Bored of what, win-?!" Just as Al was about to finish his sentence, a certain girl with chestnut hair and silver eyes came running up to the boys with a smile on her face.

"Guys! Guess where the train is headed!" Elina smiled. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Not now, Elina. We've got bigger problems, like who we're gonna see: Mustang" Ed sighed as he flipped over a joker card.

"Mustang? As in Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist?" Elina asked as she sat next to Edward, stealing the last stick of dango. "He's your superior?"

"Yeah. You know him?" Ed asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Kind of. When my parents were in the military, I traveled with them so it wasn't uncommon for me to see high ranking officers, especially when I was in Ishval for a while." Elina explained as she bit into the dango. "Is he that bad?"

"Of course he is! We've been searching everywhere, but we've got nothing to show for it!" Ed whined.

"But we've done lots of good" Al pointed out. Both Elina and Ed sighed.

"When an officer does something good, it only lines the pockets of their superiors" Elina explained as she gulped down another piece of food.

"Not to mention it's labeled as collateral damage." Ed groaned. "I can see his face-! Sarcastic little quips! Just thinking about it- Hey! That's mine!" Ed shouted as Elina ate the last of his dango.

"Haven't you heard of sharing?" Elina whined as Ed snatched the stick leftover from the eaten dango. "You should've learned after traveling with another person for three years"

"Do something useful and tell us where the train is headed" Ed snapped.

"The next stop is Aquroya, the famous water city!"

* * *

"You sure it's okay to stop here?" Al asked as the trio got off the train. "We're supposed to go straight to East city."

"Since when have we ever followed orders?" Elina shrugged. "It's on the way, so there should be no harm"

"Maybe we'll find something on the philosopher's stone and avoid a lecture." Ed nodded. "Besides, Aquroya is a tourist hot spot! I've always wanted to check it out"

"Well I guess it's a good experience for Elina, but it feels like we're playing hooky." Al admitted.

"Stop being so-" Before Ed could finish, cards suddenly fell out of his sleeve. Al bent down and examined the cards while Elina just laughed.

"Wow! You thought I was bad, Ed! At least I hide the evidence!" Elina chuckled.

"What do we have here? What an oddly good hand of cards-" Al stopped as he looked up and saw Ed running away. "Ed, you cheater!"

"Hurry up, Al! We don't want to lose him!" Elina smiled as she and Al ran after him.

* * *

"Wow! This has to be my favorite stop so far!" Elina awed as the trio looked at the beautiful water city full of rivers and boats.

"Aquroya: the city of water and perennial tourist attraction!" Ed smirked. "Sure beats the hell out of that East city dust bowl and having to see the colonel's know-it-all grin, don't you think-?"

Just as Ed finished, a horse-drawn cart rushed by, splashing mud and water onto Ed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, PAL?!"

"The grass isn't always greener on the other side" Elina sighed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself" Al agreed. Ed clapped his hands and placed them on himself and the mud disappeared. As soon as he stopped his alchemy, someone with a brown fedora slapped handcuffs onto Ed's wrist.

"Hey, shouldn't we talk first?" Ed joked as the man raised the handcuffs, causing Ed to whimper.

"You're coming to the station. I've got some questions for you, alchemist" The man smirked.

"But we just got here! We didn't do anything" Elina said, crossing her arms.

"Doesn't matter. I need answers and I will get them." The officer growled as he began dragging Ed away.

 _This is why I hate adults._ Elina thought as she gritted her teeth and followed the pair.

* * *

"So, you're telling me you're with the state?" The officer asked Ed as he chomped down a bowl of rice. "And that you're the famous Fullmetal, 'hero of the people'?"

"How many times do I have to say it, chief? That watch should be proof enough!" Ed complained in between bites. Elina slowly ate her rice, unlike Ed, who was scarfing down his bowl.

"Sure, if it's real, but I have my doubts. I say your too short for a hero-"

Ed immediately jumped and began yelling. WHO ARE YOU CALLIN SO SMALL YOU WANNA CRUSH LIKE AN ANT?!"

Elina grabbed Ed's collar and pulled him back into his chair. "Officer, if you could, please lay off the 's' word and any other synonyms for the time being"

"Alright, fair enough. Sorry for the third degree, kid. I had to test you. We've got a thief on our backs named Psiren and we're all a little on edge." The officer explained.

"Psiren?" Al asked.

"Yeah. Real name is unknown. The only thing we got is that she uses alchemy, so I thought you might be connected." As the officer spoke, Ed grabbed Al's untouched bowl of rice and began scarfing it down.

"So since your only lead is that the criminal uses alchemy, you're investigating any alchemist that comes by? That's not very reliable." Elina admitted.

"It may not be reliable, but it's all we got. Now about your certification…"

"What the hell is his problem?" Elina snapped. "He would make a better parrot than a police chief!"

"You're right about that! He said the same damn thing for three hours straight! He probably wears that hat to hide the hole in his brain!" Ed yelled.

"Still, doesn't it concern you? A criminal, using alchemy to steal?" Al asked.

Suddenly, Elina and Ed began feeling sick as both of them slumped over onto the stairs in front of the police station.

"Elina? Ed? You two don't look so good" Al pointed out.

"I don't feel so good" Elina muttered.

* * *

Elina and Edward looked at the doctor as he read a piece of paper and turned around.

"It looks like a bit of food poisoning, that's all." The doctor smiled.

"Then it's not from eating too much?" Al asked, on Ed's behalf.

"Oh shut up" Ed snapped.

"Edward! Don't be rude." Elina lectured.

"We'll need to give both of you an injection. Clara?" The doctor called.

"Injection?" The trio repeated.

"Yeah. Just a poke" The doctor said, still smiling. Ed began running out of room like the devil was at his heels.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ed shouted as Alphonse quickly grabbed him and dragged him back in. "I DON'T NEED IT!"

"It's just a little needle! You'll be fine!" Al argued.

"I FEEL BETTER! I'M CURED!"

"Don't be a baby! Take off your coat!" Al yelled as Elina pulled off Ed's coat and held it.

"I HATE YOU TWO! AL, WHY WOULD YOU SELL OUT YOUR OWN BROTHER?! YOU'RE EVIL!"

"No he's not! He's more innocent than you!" Elina yelled. Elina's eyes looked at the nurse as she put a finger over Ed's mouth, surprising him. Ed just blushed for a minute as the nurse gave him the injection without him noticing.

"There! You're all done, Ed! That didn't hurt at all, did it?" The nurse said, holding up the empty needle.

"That was… Wow" Elina awed the nurse's speed.

"He didn't even notice!" Al gawked.

"And after all that fuss!" The nurse chuckled as she put away the needle.

"Yeah! So what's your point?!" Ed snapped.

"We all have to grow up sometime, right?" The nurse smiled as she grabbed another needle. "Now, who's next?"

"That would be me" Elina said, holding out her right arm.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to remove those bandages" The nurse smiled. Elina immediately tensed as she put both her arms behind her back like a child. This surprised the boys since they had only seen Elina's arms once in the three years they had traveled together. Elina had kept her arms covered at all times with cloth bandages. Both boys froze for a minute as Elina backed up.

"No." Elina stated as she kept backing up.

"Come on, now. No need to make a-"

"NO!" Elina shouted. Suddenly, her feet stopped as she ran into Alphonse, who was blocking the way.

"Come on, Elina. You were fine just a second ago" Al said as he gave Elina a little push.

"NO, NO, NO!" Elina shouted as she dashed behind Edward, cowering.

"The needle won't hurt-" Al tried to persuade, but Edward put up a hand.

"It's not the needle she's scared of, it's removing her bandages that's freaking her out." Ed observed.

"Well we can't give her the injection any other way" The doctor pointed out.

"Please, Elina?" Alphonse pleaded. Elina closed her eyes for a minute before stepping up and holding out her right arm again.

"There we go." The nurse smiled as she began removing Elina's bandages, revealing the burns and scars on Elina's arm. Once the injection was over, the doctor examined Elina's arm.

"These look like they were very severe burns. Some aren't even healed all the way. You shouldn't keep these covered up all the time, it will make healing harder if you don't air these burns out." The doctor lectured. "Let's see the other arm"

Elina held her breath as the nurse unraveled the bandages on her left arm before she could protest. The doctor's eyes widened as he examined her other arm.

"Goodness! What happened here?"

Both brothers came other and saw what the doctor had saw: A scar that looked more like an old puncture wound surrounded by the burns that covered both arms. The only difference was this wound was completely healed, unlike some of her burns.

"Boys, has she ever taken off these bandages?" The nurse asked.

"Not at all, in the three years we've known her" Al admitted.

"Well, you'll have to leave them uncovered for a while, understood?" The doctor ordered as the nurse threw Elina's bandages away.

"Okay" Elina said with a defeated tone. Both boys looked at each other as Elina got up and followed them with her head down.

* * *

"She was so good at her job, smart, gorgeous too. I can't stop thinking about her" Al rambled as Elina remained silent.

"You've got the weirdest taste in women, Al. She's a bad gift in pretty wrapping"

The brothers looked at Clara, the nurse, as she spoke to an elderly woman.

"That won't do, Mrs. Crabbing. You can't get better on an empty stomach." Clara lectured.

"Sorry. I just can't get it down, it hurts my teeth!" The woman whined.

"Well, that bread's too tough, isn't it? We'll have to make you something tastier" Clara said as she pulled out a knife and an apple.

"Elina, you alright?" Ed asked, bothered by Elina's silence. "You're not still mad about your bandages right? Back me up, Al"

Alphonse seemed zoned out.

"Al, you still with me?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. That nurse, Clara, there's something really giving, calming about her. She kind of reminds me of mom"

"Don't be ridiculous! That woman's nothing like her!" Ed snapped as a plate fell from the elderly woman's hands.

"I've gotten so clumsy" The woman whimpered.

"Don't worry about it! It's just a fruit." Clara smiled as Al walked over and helped pick up the apple. He placed the pieces in a transmutation circles and turned them back into a full apple, skin and core.

"Here you go" Al said, handing over the apple. Elina and Edward walked over to Al.

"You're an alchemist… I didn't realize" Clara admitted.

"MR. ELRIC! MR. ELRIC!" Someone yelled as the officer from before came running up to the trio.

"What do you want, Mr. Parrot?" Elina snapped. "We proved Ed's innocence, now go away!"

"I know, I know. This time I'm asking you for a favor"

* * *

"Officers! Presenting state alchemist master, Edward Elric. Salute!" The police chief yelled. This time, there was plates of food laid all across the table and officers standing by as well. Like before, Ed scarfed down his food. Since it was obvious Elina didn't want to go back to the hospital, she allowed her stomach to remain empty as she glared at the bowls.

"So, what do you want?" Ed asked with a full mouth

"First I want to apologize for earlier! All those questions! I did what you said, sir! I got in touch with colonel Mustang at the Eastern command center, I paid long distance and everything! He sounded nice, angry, but nice! He said you really are a state alchemist. I sure pegged you wrong!"

"Like I said!" Ed growled.

"Yes! Indeed sir."

"Did you tell him about our partner?" Ed questioned. Elina raised an eyebrow at the blond boy.

"No, sir! I didn't say a word! Should I have said something?"

"No, that's fine." Ed shrugged as he kept eating.

"What am I? Your secret weapon?" Elina glared.

"Depends, you willing to piss off Mustang?" Ed smirked.

"Not on your life!" Elina snapped as the officer continued.

"Anyways, in light of the new information, I wanted to ask you-" The officer stopped as Ed held up up his bowl with a scowl.

"I'll need more" Ed stated.

"As much as you like!" The officer's voice shook.

 _I hope you get food poisoning!_ Elina thought as she rubbed her aching arms.

* * *

Later at a giant mansion, the trio was preparing for the great thief, Psiren, to appear. Elina had began talking once more but…

"Come on, Al! Why can't I run into town and get some more bandages!" Elina whined.

"You heard the doctor! Those burns will never heal completely if you don't air them out!" Alphonse lectured.

"What does he know?! Just let me go get some bandages!" Elina growled as Elina struggled to get to the door, only to have Alphonse stand in the way.

"Stop complaining and help us out, would ya?!" Edward yelled. "Come on, Elina! You used to be a thief, so what do you think we should do?"

"You think I'm gonna help you?! You're out of luck!" Elina stuck out her tongue. Just as Al walked away, Elina felt a sting on her arm. "Ow! Alphonse!"

Al turned around and saw a cut on Elina's arm and grew confused. "What happened?"

"Your armor cut me, that's what!" Elina snapped. "That hurt!"

"Sorry, Elina." Al said, his voice filled with guilt.

"Here you go, you big baby" Ed whined as he grabbed Elina's arm and used just enough bandage to cover her wound. "That's all you're getting, so drop the attitude, will ya?"

"Thank you" Elina sighed. "As for the Psiren issue, the criminal must be expecting us, so they'll try to gain the upper hand by making a distraction. there's somewhere to start."

"Alright, let's keep our eyes-"

Suddenly the room began filling with steam. Elina felt a breeze on her arms as she opened her eyes and saw Psiren right in front of the glass case the trio was supposed to protect.

"Ed! Al! We've got company!" Elina shouted as the boys looked at Psiren.

"Come on, Al-" Ed said as something flashed put him and pinned Al to the wall in fear. Elina ran over and examine the objects aimed at Al.

"They're not daggers, they're cards as in playing cards."

Ed turned back to Psiren just in time for them to steal whatever was in the glass case and make a break for it. Ed began chasing Psiren and Elina wasn't far behind. By the time Elina had made it to the fight, she felt her jaw drop as she saw Ed on top of Psiren.

"EDWARD ELRIC! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHT PSIREN, NOT HIT ON HER!" Elina shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I didn't do anything!" Edward shouted as he jumped off Psiren with his face turning as red as a tomato. Elina was too far away to hear their conversation, but as soon as she closer, she was pinned to the ground by the same cards that pinned Alphonse.

"Hey! That was a dirty trick!" Edward shouted.

"It's a shame I can't show you my face, it's a real treat!" Psiren said before blowing a kiss and running off. "Sleep tight, pipsqueaks!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK?! YA KNOW, I'D BE TALL TOO IN HEELS! GGGGRRRRRRR!" Edward shouted.

"THIS IS WHY I HATE WORKING WITH THE GOOD GUYS!" Elina screamed.

* * *

"First you flirt with the enemy and now you've lost your own brother!" Elina lectured.

"I wasn't flirting! You're just grumpy 'cause those people were staring at your arms!" Edward fired back.

"I wouldn't have to be stared at, if only you gave me my stupid bandages back, shorty!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MOUSE?!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT! JEEZ, YOU WONDER WHY WE ARGUE!" Elina snapped back.

"It would help if you weren't so worried about what other people think" Ed muttered. Elina had lost her temper at that point as she pushed Ed into a door, only to find that door was open as he fell into the room.

"What the hell, Elina!" Ed turned around and gasped. In the room was Clara, the surprise was the alchemic symbol on her chest, which was exposed by a mostly unbuttoned shirt.

"Looks like we found a certain thief. No wonder the police couldn't find her." Elina smirked as her and Ed stepped farther into the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I just came to get some medicine" Clara insisted.

"Would that medicine just happen to be made using alchemy? The jig is up, Psiren!" Ed smirked.

"Well I did say I was beautiful under the mask, didn't I?" Clara smirked as she took off her nurse hat.

"Should I leave you two alone for a bit?" Elina chuckled.

"Elina! I already told you, it's not-"

"Brother, Elina! Brother, bad news-" Alphonse said as he entered the room, surprising everyone. "Is something wrong?"

"You have no idea!" Elina sighed.

"That nurse you thought was so great happens to be Psiren! The transmutation circle is proof enough!" Ed yelled.

"The world isn't black and white like you think." Clara sighed. "You kids are too young to understand, a lot can happen in a lifetime"

"Please!" Ed snapped. Alphonse stepped up.

"I understand. I just found out. This hospital's scheduled to be demolished. Clara, you became a thief out necessity and compassion. You're trying to save this place, aren't you?" Al spoke.

"Yeah, that's right" Clara agreed. Elina felt a shiver down her spine as an image of a blond woman popped into her mind. Elina immediately shook her head, hoping to rid herself of the image. "You think I like this? Flinching at every patrol? But this hospital needs money for it's patients. I need it to…" A tear fell down Clara's cheek. Elina mind suddenly went to an image of a woman with sandy blond hair and a military uniform. Shaking her head, she scowled at Clare.

"See, Ed? I told you she had a heart… Just like mom" Al said.

"I'm not convinced." Elina spoke up.

"But Elina-" Al tried to protest but Elina lifted her hand.

"You can try to change my mind, but I've seen this before. And I won't be fooled by that, ever again." Elina walked up to Clara and lowered her voice. "If you hurt either of those boys, I will not hesitate to put you in prison with a few extra injuries."

"Why would I want to-" Clara was interrupted.

"I'm not as ignorant as AIphonse and honestly I don't care if he trusts you or not. You can't sway me that easily." Elina finished as she left the room, leaving the boys confused.

* * *

Later that night, at "Psiren's" next target, the trio was waiting for their favorite nurse to come to the rescue.

"Why don't you trust her, Elina?" Al argued.

"I've already told you! I don't trust people like her, and I'm not going to!" Elina yelled.

"Why don't you?"

"UGH! Can we stop the interrogation already?! It's bringing up some bad memories." Elina scoffed. Edward walked up just as Alphonse was about to ask another question, eliminating the conversation. "What's the plan, Ed? I don't see much back-up"

"The chief said we're setting a trap instead of ambushing her." Ed explained.

"But we're not catching her, are we?"Elina sighed as Ed's expression gave her an answer. "Fine. I'll meet her on the other side, ok?"

"Alright, we're counting on you" Edward stated as Elina began walking away.

"You always do!" Elina sighed as she waved. Soon she was running towards the back of of the building as a large rumbling came from the building and Psiren came running straight to Elina. Psiren stopped and looked at her with a confused expression.

"I guess I should be thanking you-"

"Not me." Elina corrected. "Edward was your little escape, I'm just the messenger. I may not trust you, but I'm loyal to those boys."

"I see. You're very close to those two, I could mistake you for siblings, but you're independent." Clara said as she walked up to Elina.

"I've been betrayed so many times that I could write a book about it. Those boys are the only family I have left, so it's my job to protect them." Elina sighed as she began walking away.

"It's sounds like you're holding something back. Anything you want to confess?" Clara teased. Elina froze in her tracks.

"I suggest you pay attention to what you say. Hit a nerve and you'll be needing the money for a hospital bill, is that clear?" Elina growled.

"Of course." Clara smirked.

"Good. Now since we helped your sorry ass, I want a favor involving our research." Elina stated as she turned around to face Clara. "Have you heard of the philosopher's stone?"

"No, I haven't…" Clara sighed. "But if you find one, I'll be happy to steal it for you"

"If it's for the boys, then okay." Elina sighed. "Just don't get too cocky"

"I never do" Clara smiled as she and Elina walked their separate paths for the night.

* * *

Elina ran through the crowd searching for the hospital as she carried a novel in her hands. Seeing a blond boy and a large suit of armor only made her run faster as she approached the brothers.

"Edward! Alphonse! Look at this novel I got nearby! I know you said spend money wisely, but I couldn't-" Noticing the boys' surprised expressions, she looked at what was in front of them, only to feel her jaw drop to the ground as she stared at the demolished hospital in front of her. "I knew it! I freaking knew it! That damn Clara was lying!"

"She wouldn't do that!" Alphonse protested. "Not Clara… This has to be a mistake!"

"The only mistake here is inside that metal skull of yours, Al! She robbed you of your senses and played you like a freaking harp!" Ed argued.

"Don't say that!" Al fired back.

"Al, she's using your trust! Why can't you see that?!" Elina shouted.

"Friends shouldn't fight. It's sinful" A voice spoke as the trio turned and saw Clara in a church sister uniform.

"You guys seeing this, too?" Elina muttered.

"Yup" Both boys agreed.

* * *

"It's terrible about the hospital. I tried to save it, but I couldn't get the money in time. I was devastated, the guilt was too much, I didn't know how to go on. So I became a nun" Clara explained with tears in her eyes.

"Poor Clara" Alphonse cooed.

"Yeah, I bet" Edward said, blantely.

"I thought nuns were supposed to be quiet!" Elina muttered and Ed chuckled.

"It's the truth, Ed, but those who do believe will be saved. The great lord has told me there are other places that need me, like this convent were standing in! It's scheduled to be demolished too! I only pray I can help!" Clara declared as she started crying. Alphonse moved in to comfort Clara as she sobbed.

"You can do it, Clara! You just need to try harder this time!" Al cheered.

 _Does she realize that we're not the kind of people to believe in that religious crap?_ Elina thought as she yawned. Elina's mind returned to the woman she saw before, but this time, the woman was covered in blood. Shaking her head she stood up.

"Sorry guys, you're on your own. I'm not helping Psiren's stupid little scheme anymore" Elina snapped.

"But Elina! We have to help-" Alphonse cried.

"No we don't." Elina growled. "You haven't seen this before, Al. You're too innocent, you don't see that she's messing with your head and trying to use you. I am not losing anyone else because you can't see the reality of the situation!"

Alphonse froze. _She hasn't called him "Al" in years_ Edward thought.

" _It means more if you call someone by their full name"_ Edward remembered a younger Elina say as he saw the anger on Elina's expression.

"Fine, then I guess we'll see you later" Al said with a saddened voice. Elina bit her lip as she walked out of the convent.

 _He doesn't see what I see… He doesn't realize what Clara is doing…_ Elina thought as she walked down the streets of Aquroya. _He has no idea what it feels like to be betrayed…_

* * *

"You really should apologize to him" Ed yawned as Elina keep her nose in her book.

"Yeah, right after I give my mother a bouquet of flowers!" Elina snapped. "You know she's playing Alphonse like an instrument, so why aren't you doing anything?!"

"Look, Al has to see this for himself-"

"And how's that plan going?" Elina growled. Before Ed could respond, Alphonse ran into the room shouting.

"Brother, more new-" Al froze as he looked at Elina. "Oh, Elina"

"Still playing that wonderful symphony, aren't you?" Elina scoffed as she got up and walked towards the door, taking her bag with her.

"Elina, I-"

"Don't bother, Al!" Elina snapped as she walked out of the room. Edward looked at his brother and sighed.

"Man, you really made her angry" Ed pointed out.

"I know, but what can I do to make it up to her?" Al sighed. "She's never been this mad before"

"Oh yes, she has" Ed corrected. "We just haven't seen it yet"

"If only she knew" Al said with his head tilted down.

"Knew what?"

"That Clara did it! She got the money! The convent's going to be saved!" Al cheered.

* * *

"Stupid Al! It's not like he listens to anyone!" Elina growled as she looked at the sky from the roof she was on. "Why is he so blind when it comes to crime?! 'Oh, Clara wouldn't do that!' 'Oh Clara is trying to save the convent!' He might as well have a shrine dedicated to this damn lady!"

Elina's expression softened as she looked at the sky above her more closely. The stars were easy to see, despite all the lights in Aquroya.

 _Then again, he hasn't seen what I've seen…_ Elina thought as she rolled onto her side. _He hasn't seen my life… Hell, I usually stand outside if the boys go into a command center. They're trying to fix their sin, while I'm trying to run away._

Elina's eyes began closing as sleep called out to her. "How can you fix a sin if you have no idea what that sin is?" Elina muttered before falling asleep on the roof.

* * *

The rumbling of the roof caused Elina to jump awake. Elina rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight.

"What's going on?" Elina questioned. Suddenly, the roof Elina was sitting on caved in and took her down with the rubble. "OW!"

Sitting in the rubble, Elina rubbed her arms as she dusted off her clothes. Elina growled as she grabbed her bag and tried to rise out of the rubble.

"This has to be a mistake!" Elina heard a familiar voice yell.

"Edward? Al?" Elina called out. "A LITTLE HELP HERE, DAMMIT!"

"Elina?!" Edward called out as the two brothers raced towards their dusty friend.

"The one and only" Elina joked as Ed pulled her out of the rubble.

"Where did you go?! We were worried sick!" Al lectured.

"On the roof, if you must know!" Elina snapped. "While you were helping that thief! Look how that turned out, huh?!"

"This can't be right! Maybe she couldn't find someone to sell it to-" Al pleaded.

"Have your brains turned to mush?! She's a con artist, Al! She's been using us for a good laugh! The only saving she's been doing is in her bank account!" Ed yelled.

"Don't you start that again!" Al fired back.

"What is so difficult accepting, Al?! That she deceived you or-" Elina yelled until a certain voice interrupted her.

"Do I need to put you three in a corner?" The trio looked over to see Clara wearing a red school teacher outfit (Glasses included) and children surrounding her.

 _How ironic you able to get the job of a school teacher… It's not like you're a good role model_ Elina thought as she glared at the woman.

"Wait and what dress-up doll outfit are you wearing today, Clara!" Ed snapped.

"Oh, I know! You're a school teacher right?" Al guessed. "You're working for a school that's about to be shut down and this time you won't be too late! Isn't that right, Clara?"

Clara looked surprised for a split second before smiling. "You guessed it! Maybe we should talk about with the K-I-D's?"

"Clara, I'm warning you, lay off. They've been through hell, they don't need you toying with them" Elina threatened as she got face-to-face with Clara. "When are you going to end all of this?"

"As I tell my students, there are some answers we have to find on our own" Clara said as she glared. Clara walked away with the children, leaving the trio alone. Alphonse sighed.

"Elina, you shouldn't have-"

"Save your lectures, Al." Elina snapped. "If you weren't so innocent and blind, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Elina, I-"

"Do you even know what it's like to be betrayed?! You don't! Me and Edward have no problem seeing through Clara's lies, but you're so determined to prove her innocence that you've blinded yourself!" Elina yelled as she got closer to Alphonse, who was backing up. "WHEN WILL YOU MAN UP AND STOP LYING TO YOURSELF-?!"

"Don't talk to him like that!" Edward yelled as he got between the two, shielding Alphonse. "Even if you know the truth, you have no right to speak to my brother like that! Friend or not, you can't treat him like he's beneath you, Lina!"

Elina froze at the sound of her nickname. Al cowered behind his brother but Edward stood strong. Dropping her bag, Elina walked away, not saying a word.

"Elina-" Al tried calling out.

"Let her go, Al. She needs time to cool off" Ed said as he picked up Elina's bag and began walking down the street.

* * *

"The nerve of those idiots!" Elina growled. Without noticing, Elina had walked into an abandoned part of town with water up to her feet. "Ever since coming to this stupid town, I keep seeing her every time I close my- What the?" Elina wondered as she looked at the buildings in front of her. Vines were growing on said building and they were half way into the water, some were already deep in the water.

"The town… Is sinking?" Elina questioned as she carefully stepped over to one of the buildings. "Why is this such a tourist hot spot is the town is sinking?"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind; Clara.

 _That's right, journalists everywhere came here to try to get the scoop on Psiren and then people followed the stories like moths to a bright light_ Elina realized. _That doesn't make it right…_

"Isn't that familiar, mother?" Elina muttered as she gripped the key around her throat.

* * *

Elina looked at the sky from a rooftop as she kept reliving her fight with the boys.

 **WHEN WILL YOU MAN UP AND STOP LYING TO YOURSELF**

 **You can't treat him like he's beneath you!**

 **There are some answers we have to find on our own**

 _Yeah, yeah, yeah! I get it already! I screwed up!_ Elina thought shaking her head. Looking at the moon, Elina felt something very wrong. Her feeling was confirmed when a giant alchemy hand came out of the water. _That has to be Ed! But he would have to be near the bottom of lake to make that…_

"Aw crap! His automail!" Elina shouted as she ran across roofs until she saw where the hand was coming from. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into to the water. Looking around, she saw bubbles rising near where the hand was. She could feel her lungs beg for air.

 _Crap, Ed! Where are you?!_ Elina panicked until she saw a certain blond boy trying to swim. Elina swam over just as Ed was beginning to black out and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of the water and onto land. Elina coughed as she dragged Ed to the surface and set him against a podium.

"Edward! Can you hear me?" Elina yelled as she shook the boy. Just as Elina was about to go run for help, Ed began coughing up water, much to her relief. "Thank god! You're alright!"

"Elina…?" Ed said with a puzzled look. "What are you doing here?"

"Not the best night to stargaze, am I right?" Elina chuckled. "Seems like a perfect night for a swim, though!"

The handcuffs clicked onto Clara's wrists as she looked at the pair. "Pretty sharp, kid. You'll make a fine grown-up" Clara smiled. "When you are, we should do this deal again. It's always more fun when there's more than one"

"Clara…" Alphonse whined.

"Well, we've got business to attend to, so they'll have to decline" Elina spoke up as she rubbed a fluffy towel onto her hair.

"Before they haul me off, your little girlfriend asked me about a funny little stone. Go to Xenotime and take a good look there. I heard there's someone there who's researching the components behind it." Clara informed. "Maybe he can help you out"

"Xenotime" Ed repeated.

* * *

"Come on, Al, are you still holding a grudge on me?" Ed complained as the train's whistle blew. "It was my responsibility, Al. I was the officer and she was the crook, we just played our parts-"

"That's not true" Al argued. "She isn't a crook. You've told me a hundred times you can't always go by the rules when you're doing what's right. Clara was kind, giving, and heroic. You think the same thing, brother. I'm sure you do!"

"I don't know, Al." Ed sighed as he looked over at Elina, who was reading a book across from the brother in her own train booth. "What I do know is that you have to apologize to Elina. And I think now is your best chance"

"I'm not speaking to her" Al grumbled.

"Al, just apologize. She's in a good mood right now and I know it's killing you to stay mad, so you might as well get it over with" Ed smirked as he began eating a bowl of noodles.

"Alright, I'll try" Alphonse agreed as he rose to his feet and sat in the seat in front of her. The first thing Al realized was that Elina's bandages were back, which was a surprise.

 _That must be why she's in a good mood_ Al thought.

"Hey Elina-"

"You've heard of the butterfly effect, right?" Elina interrupted as she keep her eyes glued to the book. "It states that everything you do in life will cause a change, whether you know it or not"

"Elina, I-"

"Even if it's never been proven, it's completely possible"

"Elina, can I-"

"There's also something called the thread of fate, but I think that's all just trash. There's also-"

"Would you listen for once?!" Al shouted, which made Elina jump. Realizing his mistake, Al immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry!"

To Al's surprise, Elina began laughing. "There he is!" Elina giggled. Alphonse looked confused. "You know, I don't like a guilty conscience either. No apology needed!"

"W-wait, so you forgive me?" Al asked, still surprised.

"Of course, Alphonse! I could never hold a grudge against someone as nice as you!" Elina smiled.

"Even though I caused all this trouble?" Al mentioned, embarrassed. Elina shut her book.

"Alphonse, I have too many regrets in life, I'm not going to let our friendship be one of them" Elina smiled. "So, guessing we're playing hooky, again?"

"Yeah, you know brother!" Al laughed.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Edward yelled as the pair began laughing.

* * *

 **AWWWWWWWW! Yeah, I'm a sucker things like that :3**

 **So I hope everyone has an awesome day, cause the next update is the 27th! I'll see you soon guys!**

 **Jackie C.A.**


	5. Set in Stone

**I AM SO SORRY! I promised you guys an update on the 27th (AKA My birthday) and I COMPLETELY FORGOT! I feel so bad! :(**

 **Please forgive me! To make up for this, I spent the last few days combining two chapter into one (Since this was a two-part episode) So I hope you enjoy and please don't hurt me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Set in Stone**

* * *

"Wow! Look at those mountains!" Elina awed as the trio walked up to the quiet town of Xenotime. The sunset revealed a beautiful orange color over the mountain and the large building on said mountain.

"It is pretty, but are you sure we might find a Philosopher's stone in a run-down town like this?" Alphonse asked. "Looking around, it's hard to believe they produce much gold at all"

"Which is all the more likely they'll be producing a Philosopher's stone" Ed reasoned.

"I see, it's a chain reaction." Elina smirked "With no gold, the town will get more and more desperate to make something to help with the economy, which means they'll be searching for a special stone"

"Is money all that grown-ups think about?" Al complained.

"You're telling me" Elina sighed.

"Elisa!" The trio heard someone shout.

Elina ran as fast as she could to the mine with the boys not far behind. When she got there, Elina saw a crying little girl with brown pigtails stuck under a coal cart that was only inches away from crushing her. Men were crowded all around the coal cart trying to lift it off of the girl without injuring her.

"Edward, we've got a problem!" Elina shouted as the boys were starting to catch up to her.

"What's wrong?" Ed shouted. The man closest to the girl got up.

"My daughter, she's trapped!" The man shouted. Ed looked at the space between the girl and the cart before standing up.

"I need you to hold still for a minute" Edward said before looking over at Elina. "Be ready to get her out of there, alright?"

"Got it!" Elina nodded as she kneeled down right next to the girl. Ed clapped his hands and just as the cart was beginning to morph, Elina pulled the girl out from under the cart and got knocked backwards.

The girl kept crying as Ed kept morphing the cart, but Elina smiled.

"It's alright, kid. You're safe now" Elina grinned as the girl stopped crying and opened her eyes. When Ed finished, the cart turned into a solid block. Everyone awed at Ed's creation as Elina helped the girl up and smiled once more.

* * *

"I can't thank you enough" The Elisa's father bowed. The trio were currently at an inn surrounded by food provided by the townspeople, who were also crowding the table.

"And don't forget about their metal father!" **(A/N: This is actually really funny since Ed's original partner was supposed to be his father. This was changed later, but I thought it was funny!)** Elisa smiled as Alphonse turned white and the two off to the side began giggling.

"No, you got it all wrong! Al isn't my father, he's actually my younger brother!" Ed explained.

"Younger brother? But he's so much bigger than you are" Elisa observed. Edward began growling as Elina and Alphonse started chuckling. "What about your sister?"

Elina smiled. "I'm actually not related to them, but I do consider them family after everything we've been through. Not like I have anyone else besides them"

Both boys looked as Elina before Alphonse decided to change the topic.

"Anyway, we're glad that you're okay, Elisa" Alphonse mentioned. Suddenly, a man with black wavy hair over one eye came into the room holding a basket.

"Elisa!" The man called. "Elisa, are you alright?"

"Uncle Belsio!" Elisa smiled as she tried to run over only to have her father grab her hand. "Daddy…?"

"Get out!" Elisa's father snapped. "You've got some nerve to show your face in my house now, after almost getting my poor daughter killed!" Everyone looked at Belsio. "Listen to me, Elisa. No matter what he says, you are never to help him with his work ever again!"

"No daddy!" Elisa refused. "Not of that was Uncle Belsio's idea, I begged him to let me help out…!" Elisa began coughing, which revealed concern on her father's expression.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Here, drink this" Her father said as he handed her a glass of water. Edward looked at the girl as if she was an important clue to something.

Belsio set the basket down on a table. "I am sorry" Belsio said as he left the room, closing the door on his way out.

The basket, which had lemons in it, sat on the table as Elisa looked at them with sadness. "Uncle Belsio told me your lemon pies were always the best, daddy, and it was a shame all the lemon farms were shut down. I thought that maybe if I helped him, I could taste your pie…"

"Don't worry!" One of the miners shouted happily. "Once the Philosopher's stone is finished, we'll all be rich and then we'll be able to buy all the fruit we want from some other town!"

The trio jumped at the man's words. "The Philosopher's stone?!" Ed awed.

"Yes! That's it, the three of you must have come to Xenotime to assist Mr. Mugear with his research, and finish the Philosopher's stone!" Elisa's father smiled. Everyone began crowding the trio.

"Please, do everything in your power, make it as fast as you can!"

"We want Xenotime to once again be the town of gold"

"We must reclaim what's rightfully ours!"

"That's right! We're counting on you alchemists!"

"The children must not suffer any longer"  
"We'll do our best, but please don't put more pressure on us!" Elina smiled nervously as sweat went down her forehead.

"I guess we'll have to visit Mugear and see what we can do!" Ed smirked.

"Before you go, could you tell us the names of our savior's?" Elisa's father asked.

"Certainly!" Ed boasted as Alphonse blushed. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"I'm his brother Alphonse Elric and this is our friend-"

"Elina Fosther, at your service!" Elina smiled. Everyone looked at the trio with confused looks.

"The Elric brothers? The state alchemist, hero-of-the-people, Elric?" A miner asked.

"Yup!" Ed smirked. Suddenly, the boys were seized and kicked out of the house. Elina cowered in a corner.

"What was that all about?!" Edward yelled.

"SHUT UP! THE REAL ELRIC BROTHERS ARE ALREADY WORKING TO SAVE OUR TOWN WITH MUGEAR! COME BACK WHEN YOU'RE READY TO TELL US WHO YOU REALLY ARE!" Elisa's father yelled as he shut the door. Everyone turned to Elina as she put her hands up.

"I-I swear we didn't do anything!" Elina suddenly panicked. "Unless you count Liore, Youswell, Aquroya…"

"It's alright, you were probably bribed to go along with their scheme." Elisa's father smiled. "We'll take you to Mugear in the morning"

 _Thank god…_ Elina silently prayed as the group welcomed her with open arms.

* * *

"So this is Mugear's mansion?" Elina asked as she looked at the giant house in front of her. Elina had snuck out with the brothers, who were currently sneaking around and trying to find a way in. Elina sighed as she looked at the gun-holding guards at the front of the house. "Doesn't look suspicious at all"

"Brother, are you really gonna sneak in there?" Alphonse asked nervously.

"Of course we are!" Ed boasted. "To confront these imposters! And to get them to tell us all they know about the Philosopher's stone!"

"Is it that big a deal, Edward? Can't you just let it go?" Elina sighed.

"Of course not!" Ed snapped. "Impersonating a state alchemist is a serious offense!"

"Since when have you cared about the law?" Elina asked.

 _I knew we should've left her behind_ Ed thought as a vein popped onto his forehead. Climbing over the wall, the trio ran out of the guard's vision and to the side of the mansion. Ed clapped his hands and set them onto the house, causing a blue glow to light up that side of the house. When Ed removed his hands, a little door was in its place. The trio climbed in and looked around. Inside the door was a little, dark library with dusty books on their shelves.

"What a gloomy place" Elina pointed out. Pulling a random book off a shelf, she realized it was about the Philosopher's stone. " **The Philosopher's stone can take many forms, hence its many names. It can range from a coal-like rock or a gel-like liquid, but retains the same crimson color, although it has never been confirmed…** "

Closing the book and placing it in her bag, Elina grabbed another book only to find it was on the same subject.

"Look at this, all of these books are on the philosopher's stone" Ed pointed out.

"This must be where they're making it, right?" Alphonse asked.

"By 'it' you must mean that cheap, no-good imitation. These books aren't as good as we thought either. They all say 'it has never been confirmed'" Elina sighed as she stuffed another book in her bag.

"If they're no good, then why are you stuffing those books in your bag?" Edward asked with a smug look. Elina froze as she looked at the books in her bag.

"Research purposes!" Elina said with a big, innocent grin. Both boys sighed. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening waved across the room, causing Elina to seal her bag and run to the boy's side.

"In case the guards weren't a clue, this place is off limits" A sharp voice said. Looking at the door, Elina saw two boys, one taller and a shorter one hiding behind him, with neon blond hair and periwinkle blue eyes. The older boy was wearing a white shirt with brown overalls and the younger one, from what Elina could see, was wearing high green overalls and a hat with flaps to match. Alphonse broke the silence.

"By any chance, are you guys the ones-"

"Stealing our names?" Edward finished.

"I take it that means you're the real Ed, in the suit" The taller boy stated.

"Me?" Al questioned. Elina started chuckling and Ed glared at her.

"NO YOU DOLT! I'M ED! I'M HIM! WHY DOES EVERYBODY ALWAYS THINK THAT?!" Edward yelling, jumping in front of Al and waving his arms.

"Wait, so you're the older brother?" the younger boy asked from behind his brother.

"DAMN RIGHT!" Ed snapped, causing the boy to cower.

"Edward! Don't scare the poor kid." Elina lectured.

"And who are you, exactly?" The older boy asked, causing Elina to perk up.

"Just the Elric's traveling partner." Elina smiled.

"We didn't know you had a girl traveling with you" The older boy admitted.

"Well this has been the case for three years-"

"Enough with the chit chat!" Ed interrupted with his usual yelling. The boy behind the older brother flinched.

"Try to tone it down a notch, you don't want the gunmen to realize you're here" The older boy smirked. Ed stepped back. "How bizarre". The older boy said as he began walking towards the trio. "The real younger brother wears a suit of armor to protect himself. It's hard to believe you're only fourteen"

"How do you know so much about us?" Al asked.

"He stole your identity, Alphonse. I'm pretty sure he's done his research" Elina said, innocently. The older boy stopped in front of Edward, looking down at him.

"You wanna start something with me?" Ed threatened.

"No, I don't want to fight with you, Ed. So why don't you turn around and go home and leave us to take care of things around here?" The older brother suggested.

"That's not the way you beg someone to do something!" Ed snapped as he began pointing to the ground. "On your knees!" Nothing happened.

"Edward!" Elina snapped.

"Not now, Elina!" Edward snapped as he kept pointing at the ground. "I said get down on the ground!"

"What? So we can see eye to eye?" The older boy shrugged. "Surely you must be used to people looking down on you"

Ed's face turned red with rage. Ed threw a punch at the older boy's head, but the boy dodged it with a simple lean. Ed tried again on his right side, but the boy just tilted and avoided the punch with ease. Edward kept trying to hit the boy, but to no avail. Finally, the boy caught Ed's fist.

"An automail arm, huh?" The boy observed. "I guess the real Ed's seen some action too"

"And I'm glad to see that you have some skills. I'd hate for you to be damaging my name!" Ed yelled as he kicked towards the boy with his left leg, only to have it miss it's mark. Ed charged towards the boy. Elina looked at Alphonse, who shook his head.

 _Right, this is Edward's fight. I can't intervene_ Elina thought as she gritted her teeth. The older boy landed a hit right on Ed's cheek and sent him back into a bookshelf. Elina felt instinct take over as she charged towards the boy.

"You know, I've always wanted to find out what a bonafide state alchemist is capable of-" The boy was interrupted by Elina swinging a kick at him, but for Elina, the boy could only block her kick with his arms. The boy threw a punch, only to have Elina dodge with her arms and swing another kick at the boy.

"Elina!" Ed yelled as he clapped his hands and set them on the ground. Spikes rose out of the ground and struck where the boy had stood. The boy ran on the other side of a bookshelf as Elina dodged the spikes. "Your friend's not a bad fighter and you can transmute with no circle… Two can play that game!" The boy yelled. Running to the end of the shelf, the boy set his hand on the ground, red sparks coming from the transmutation.

"He doesn't need a circle either!" Al warned. Ed pushed Al out of the way as Elina jumped in front of the boys and pulled on her transmutation gloves.

"How did you-?!" Ed gasped as the boy stepped closer. "You have a philosopher's stone?!"

"That just makes our situation worst, Edward!" Elina snapped as she clapped her hands and set them on the wooden shelves. Wooden spikes began springing out of the shelves, some of the book falling. Every spike missed it's mark as the boy dodged them all.

"What was all that commotion?"

"It came from in here"

Elina grabbed the boys as the sound of the guard's voice rang in her ears. Running out the enterance Ed had made, Elina clapped her hands and created stone spikes to prevent the fake brothers from following the trio.

"But wait! I wasn't finished yet!" Ed complained as the trio kept running out of the mansion.

"You can finish later, but you can't do anything if you're in prison!" Elina reminded.

* * *

The trio sat on a hill as Elina was looking at Ed's cheek, which had swollen up to the size of a grapefruit.

"It'll heal faster if you quit messing with it!" Ed whined as Elina rubbed some cream onto a bandage and stuck it onto Ed's face. Ed pulled it off with disgust. "What is this?"

"It's bruise cream, stupid." Elina snapped as she put the square bandage back on Ed's cheek. "I used to train in the military everyday so I couldn't allow bruises to be an issue"

"It feels weird!" Ed complained.

"Just put up with it, alright?" Elina sighed as she repeated the process with her right wrist, which had been bruised when she had gotten punched. An idea came to Elina as she grabbed Al's cold metal arm and placed on Ed's cheek. Ed smiled as he laid his swollen cheek against the armor. "Metal chills really well, so this should stop the swelling faster."

"Your cold metal feels just like an ice pack!" Ed sighed.

"Glad I could be of some comfort to you, brother… Even in this armor" Al looked at Elina, who was dozing off. "Are you alright?" Al asked. Elina looked at him with saddened eyes.

"I'm alright… Just…" Elina struggled to find the words.

"What is it?" Ed asked with his slightly muffled voice.

"It's nothing. The whole 'state alchemist' issue is just causing some things to resurface" Elina sighed as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Oh ya, your mom was a state alchemist" Ed saw Elina tense up as the words left his mouth. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"because my mother wasn't a regular state alchemist… " Elina muttered. "She was a monster"

Both boys looked at their partner with concern. "What do you-"

The sound of footsteps interrupted the trio as they turned around and saw the man, Belsio, from earlier.

"Hey, you were the guy with the lemons before, right?" Ed asked.

"If you need a place to board up, you can come with me" Belsio offered.

* * *

"Thank you so much for taking us in" Alphonse thanked as Belsio placed a metal bowl of water with a rag on the table the trio was sitting at.

"Couldn't very well let you kids sleep outside, could I?" Belsio answered. Elina stood up and placed herself in front of the boys.

"You're not going to ask who these boys are?" Elina questioned as Belsio continued working at the sink.

"They're the Elric brothers and you're their partner, right? That's what you say." Belsio answered. Elina relaxed herself as she returned to her seat.

"Then you believe us?" Al said as he rose from his chair.

"Honestly, not in the least, but you kids must have your own reasons for saying that you are" Belsio shrugged. "Makes no difference to me… To each their own."

"So you're not into the philosopher's stone like your neighbors are" Ed observed.

"Everyone else is unable or unwilling to forget the wealth the gold once brought them." Belsio explained. "So Mugear has got them wrapped around his finger"

Everyone was quiet until Elina rose from her chair, breaking the tension.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed" Elina smiled as she turned to Ed. "Maybe I'll answer your question tomorrow, Edward. Goodnight"

Elina walked towards one of the rooms and closed the door behind her.

"Your friend seems worn-out" Belsio mentioned.

"Who, Elina?" Ed chuckled. "She's anything but worn-out! Most hyper person I ever met was Elina"

"I don't know, brother" Al argued. "Doesn't it seem like she's tired?"

"No, not really-"

"Maybe that was her goal" Belsio suggested. Both boys looked at Belsio. "She seems very protective of you boys, so could it be she's hiding her exhaustion from you?"

Both boys remained silent as they allowed the thought to sink in. "Perhaps we should tell her" Alphonse suggested as Ed shook his head.  
"No, Elina isn't like that. She'll just work harder to protect us if we tell her that." Ed sighed. "She doesn't give up that easily. We'll just have to make sure doesn't overwork herself"

"You're right about that" Belsio agreed. "Your friend wasn't kicked out onto the streets like you two, but she went with you anyways. She's loyal, I'll give her that"

* * *

" _Edward! Alphonse!" Elina called out. The only thing she could see around her was water and rays of darkness. From far away, Elina could see the boys walking away. She smiled. "Hey! Over here, guys!"_

 _The boys turned around and waved to their friend with big grins on their faces. Suddenly, a woman with a military uniform walked in front of the boys. Elina froze as she noticed the sandy blond hair the woman possessed. Fear washed over Elina._

" _No! Get away-!" Before Elina could run towards the boys, she felt herself being gagged and her arms pulled behind her. Looking up, Elina saw her brother's face with a dark smirk plastered on his expression. Tears flowed down Elina's face as green sparks surround her mother and the boys. In a flash, Edward was impaled by a jade spike and Alphonse was crushed by a stone pillar._

" _NO!"_

Elina felt herself fall off the bed and hit the ground with a fairly loud _thump_. She could already feel a headache from where her head hit the ground.

 _I have a strong feeling that's gonna bruise_ Elina growled. She picked herself up began dressing herself with her usual clothing and bandages. Walking out, Elina saw Elisa sitting at Belsio's table.

"Hey Elisa" Elina smiled.

"Hi fake brothers' sister!" Elisa smiled.

"It's Elina" Elina smiled nervously. Belsio looked at Elina with concern.

"Are you alright? You've hit your head." Belsio pointed out. Elina's hand went to the red spot on her forehead and winced.

"I'm fine. Just fell out of bed." Elina assured. "Where are the boys?"

"They're alright" Belsio informed. "They went into town"

"Oh, okay" Elina smiled as she shifted her feet a bit. "Just tell me where they went and I can catch up"

"You'll run yourself ragged chasing those boys" Belsio warned. Elina bit her lip. "The armor went to the pharmacy. I don't know where the other one went"

"Thank you" Elina said as she rushed out the door.

* * *

Running into town, Elina saw Al near the pharmacy. "Hey, Alphonse!" Al turned around to reveal the little blond boy from Mugear's mansion. Elina ran over and the boy looked at Elina with fear.

"Alphonse, isn't this-" Elina nudged her head, waiting for Al to answer.

"Oh, it's okay. He's a friend" Al assured. Elina turned to the boy.

"Well, if Al says you're good, then I trust him" Elina shrugged, trying not to relive the Clara-Psiren incident. "My name is Elina Fosther. Nice to properly meet you this time"

"Nice to meet you too" The boy smiled. "Excuse me for asking, but are you hurt?"

Elina froze as Al quickly looked at Elina's forehead, where her bump had turned into a bruise. Elina covered it with her hand and winced.

"Elina! What happened?" Al interrogated.

"I'm fine, Alphonse. It's nothing. Just some time to heal and I'll be alright" Elina smiled.

"I can get you an ice pack" The boy offered. Elina chuckled at the boy's offer.

"That's sweet of you, but there's no use wasting something like that on me when I'm not even hurt" Elina explained. "Where's Edward?"

"I don't know, maybe we should look for him" Al suggested. The trio walked deeper into town, passing many people who had hacking coughs.

"Why does everyone seem so sick?" Elina asked. "Is there an epidemic going around?"

"Uh no, not really" The blond boy shrugged. Elina saw him twiddle his thumbs nervously.

"Isn't this stuff cough medicine?" Al asked as he held up a bag.

"Actually-" The boy stopped talking when he saw his older brother in front of the trio. "Brother!"

The boy's older brother started walking away, which made the younger boy follow. "Sorry, I have to go now"

"Wait!" Al called. "Tell us your real name"

The boy stopped and smiled. "It's Fletcher!" The boy said before running off.

"Cute kid. Hard to believe he's working for Mugear" Elina grinned. The sound of running caused the pair to spin around, only to see Ed racing down the street.

"Brother?" "Edward?"

Ed stopped and looked at the pair. "Why are you running?" Al asked.

"That imposter is around here somewhere!" Ed growled with his swollen cheek. "Have you seen him?"

Elina and Alphonse gave each other a questioning look.

"No, not today" Elina fibbed.

"That unethical jerk!" Ed complained. "Did you know he's been fixing people's tools and transmuting wheels all over town?"

"It's better than him using your name to do bad stuff" Al pointed out.

"That's not the point, it's the way he works!" Ed snapped. "He's got no regard for the law of 'Equivalent Exchange'!"

"Neither did Cornelio." Elina sighed. "Does that mean we have to bring them in?"

"Of course it does!" Ed shouted. "And tonight's our chance! We're gonna sneak into the mansion ,again ,tonight!"

"What? Just one day later?" Al questioned.

"That's right! They won't expect us!" Ed smirked.

* * *

As Belsio slept, the trio tiptoed to Mugear's mansion under the moonlight. The trio repeated climbing over the large stone wall and sneaking to the side of the mansion. All that was left now was to find a way in.

"Tonight we're trying 'Operation Mole Hole'!" Ed declared once the guards were out of view.

"Mole Hole?" Elina and Alphonse questioned. Insteading of explaining, Edward clapped his hands and set them on the ground, creating a large tunnel in the ground.

"Oh! I get it!" Elina chuckled as the trio climbed in. Navigating through the tunnel was difficult. The more the trio digged, the more Elina could feel her patience running out. "Are we almost out?" Elina whimpered.

"Almost. According to my calculations, we should be right under the center of the mansion." Ed explained.

"Are you sure?" Al asked.

"No, but we gotta come out somewhere" Ed stated as he clapped his hands and placed them on the dirt above his head. Looking up, a smirk appeared on Ed's face. "We're in!"

Elina clapped her hands and used the dirt below Ed to created an elevator to help the boys out of the tunnel.

"Woah! Thanks Elina!" Ed called from above.

"You're welcome!" Elina repeated this with Alphonse and herself. As she climbed out of the tunnel, Elina got a good look at her surroundings. Beside her was a river with red water flowing quickly and fog was rising from the water. It left a metallic taste in Elina's mouth.

"What is this?" Al asked. Elina looked at the water in disgust.

"So that's their plan" Ed muttered. "I think this is the chemical used to produce the red stone"

"Now that you mention it, this matches the color of the stone, only it's less concentrated" Elina observed.

"I remember reading something about it in the library at Central. It's a theoretical solid pumped full of alchemic catalysts" Edward explained. "You put this refined red water under a few megatons of pressure until it turns to stone"

"So kind of like making a diamond" Elina compared. "Just not as valuable"

"Exactly"

"So it's not a Philosopher's stone?" Al asked.

"It's not. Some stones can be imitated perfectly, like Rose Quartz, but some stones you easily tell the difference, like Diamonds." Elina explained. "While the appearance and alchemic reaction look similar, the underlying ingredients are what makes the difference"

"Wasn't it an alchemist named Nash or something that came up with the process?" Ed asked.

"That's right, but his idea never-" Elina was interrupted as a series of coughs came from her lungs. Edward began coughing violently as well.

"Elina! Ed!" Al panicked.

"It feels like there's a weight on my chest" Elina coughed out.

"I'm having some trouble breathing, too" Ed struggled to say. Elina felt her world growing dark as she fell to the ground. Ed followed soon after.

"Brother! Elina!" Al cried. "Wake up!"

"This way!" A familiar voice said as a door at the end of the hall opened up.

"Who's there?" Al asked.

"It's me!" Fletcher responded. "Come on! Hurry!"Al picked up Ed and Elina, running towards the door.

* * *

Elina slowly opened her eyes, noticing that the crushing weight on her chest had disappeared.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Elina looked over to see Fletcher and Al with relieved expressions. "What's going on?" Elina asked as she shook her head, relieving herself of her grogginess.

"It's okay, you're away from the redwater" Fletcher smiled. Elina sighed as she looked around the room. Her eyes stopped when she saw Ed on Al's lap unconscious. Elina rushed over to Al with a worried expression plastered on her face.

"Is he…" Elina panicked.

"No, no! He's fine now, we just have to wait until he wakes up" Al explained.

"Thank goodness" Elina relaxed. Alphonse looked at his friend with concern. Her exhaustion was more noticeable by the bag under her eyes.

"Hey Elina…" Alphonse said getting his friend's attention.

"What is it?" Elina asked.

"Why are you so protective of me and brother?"

The room went silent with Al's question. Elina sighed.

"Let me tell you, Al" Elina started. "I've been through too much too fast. I've lost too many people that were close to me and those I trusted stabbed me in the back. It made me grow up in a short time, but then the thievery began. A long time ago I would've said I was a lost cause, but then you and Edward came. It was like a tunnel of light in the darkness… You were one of the few people I could trust again, not the first, but one of the few… And you didn't betray me"

"Who was the first?" Al asked. Elina's eyes shined.

"My father. I owe you two so much… You're like the family I never had." Elina smiled. "I'm not losing that again, Alphonse"

"Elina…" Alphonse stopped when he saw Ed's eyes opening. "Brother!"

Ed's eyes opened as he sat up. "Where am I?" Ed asked as he looked at Fletcher. "And what the hell is he doing here?!"

"Edward! It's not his fault!" Elina lectured.

"No he's right" Fletcher spoke up. "I-I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for? What did you do?" Ed asked.

"No, Fletcher. It's what you didn't do, isn't it?" Al confronted. Fletcher looked down at his lap as tears began falling from his eyes. "If you know something, tell us. I get the feeling you don't like what's going on here"

"That red water you saw, it's a toxic substance that's been polluting the whole town" Fletcher confessed. "But it's… It's the vital ingredient for creating a red stone"

"Is that why the people in Xenotime have been coughing so badly?" Al asked.

"Alphonse!" Elina snapped. Fletcher was in tears. Elina put a hand on the boy's head, coddling him as he cried.

"I'm… S-so sorry!" Fletcher apologized.

"It's alright. It's not your fault" Elina comforted the sobbing boy.

"Okay this is ridiculous" Ed snapped, standing up. "First things first, we need to demolish this lab!"

"I can't let you do that" A new voice spoke. The trio turned around to see Fletcher's older brother. "After all the work we've put into it, we've finally created a red stone. My father gave everything he had in pursuit of this breakthrough, Mr. Elric. If you think I'm going to give up now, you're quite mistaken."

"So you care that much over a piece of lame costume jewelry?" Ed smirked. The older boy growled and grabbed onto a nearby lamp. Red sparks flew from the boy's hand as the lamp turned into a sword. "Yeah! A fake sword from a fake stone, huh? I think I can top that!" Ed shouted as he clapped his hands and placed them on his automail, making a blade out of the top arm piece. Ed charged at the boy as Elina held Al and Fletcher back.

As the two boys' weapons met, the two were at a standstill. The taller boy's sword began to crack under Ed's steel blade.

"Mine's the genuine article!" Ed smirked. The taller boy kneed Edward in the stomach, sending him back with a flip. The taller boy's hand waved over a metal door behind him as red sparks appeared. Grabbing something, the taller boy made a hose-like object from the metal door, smirking. "What the-?!"

"Red water, straight from the tap! If you're doused with it, you're a goner. You'll lose a lot more than your conscientiousness!" The taller boy threatened with a dark smirk.

"Fine, let it rain!" Ed shouted as he turned his blade into a metal umbrella. Elina felt herself being held back by a large metal hand. The taller boy opened the hose and red water launched towards Ed, who covered it with his umbrella.

"Ed, this is crazy!" Al shouted.

"Your brother's right! Just go and you can live!" The taller boy shouted.

"Never! I ain't giving up to some naive kid who's desperate to be… Just like daddy!" Ed snapped. The taller boy strengthened the flow of the red water and Ed began to lose his balance. Elina yanked herself out of Al's grip just as Fletcher began running.

 _He's going to get himself killed!_ Elina thought as rushed to Fletcher. Just as Fletcher shoved Ed out of the area with red water, Elina grabbed him and took the fall with her back. Feeling the burn of the red water, Elina winced, trying not to show that she was in pain. Fletcher looked up at Elina, unharmed.

"Miss, are you-"

"What were you thinking?!" Elina snapped. "If you died, who would be there to show your brother the right path?! Dying isn't heroic if you didn't make a difference Fletcher! You're too young to just put yourself in danger!"

"I-I'm sorry, miss. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt… It doesn't matter who gets the credit anymore… This isn't what dad wanted!" Fletcher began crying and Elina softened her expression.

"I'm sorry I yelled, but giving up your life shouldn't be an option, Fletcher. Live for your brother's sake… Live for your father" Elina smiled as she rose to her feet, careful to keep Fletcher away from the puddle of red water. Suddenly, whistles were heard from the room.

"Mr. Elric! Is everything alright in there?!" An officer called.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" The taller boy shouted back. "I told them not to bother me…"

"Maybe they don't really trust you" Ed snapped. "Though I can't see why except, ya know, lying about who you really are!"

"Fletcher, can you block the door?" Elina asked.

"Sure" Fletcher nodded as he ran over to the door and drew a transmutation circle.

"What the- Fletcher!" The taller boy scolded. Fletcher ignored him as he placed his hands on the circle, making it glow green as a tree began forming in the door's way.

"Edward, Alphonse get out of here!" Elina ordered. The boys looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Elina, what are you-" Edward was interrupting by banging at the door.

"Get out of here! We'll meet up later!" Elina assured. The banging at the door got even louder. "There's no time to argue! Move it!"

Edward and Alphonse jumped out of the window as Elina clapped her hands and hid herself inside a section of the wall. Elina could feel her skin aching from the red water as she held herself in her hiding space. She froze as the sound of running grew closer.

"My lab… What have they done to my lab?" Mugear whined as he walked into the room only to see the remains.

"Mr. Mugear" Russell said, getting Mugear's attention.

"Oh, I'm glad to see you're alright." Mugear assured. "The stone, has it been damaged?"

"No need to worry" Russell assured. "It's intact"

Mugear grabbed the stone and examined it. "It's a decent size, I commend you for getting this far. But I'm afraid that our time table's been pushed up. I need you to move directly into our contingency plan"

"But sir, we've made real progress. We don't need to resort to that!" Russell argued.

"Are you questioning the only person who's given you a chance?" Mugear challenged.

"No, no" Russell backed off.

"There was once another alchemist who couldn't do what I asked him" Mugear informed. "He left here with his tail between his legs and he was never heard from again"

Mugear dropped the red stone in a fishbowl-like object and it began to glow.

"What is that?" Russell asked.

"Even a non-alchemist such as myself has options" Mugear explained as he pointed his device towards the ground. The room began to glow red as strips of strong material wrapped themselves around Russell and Fletcher. Elina held her breath as she squeezed herself.

"Why are you doing this?!" Russell growled.

"Because I can!" Mugear growled. "You honestly think I'm a fool, don't you? That I don't realize the true Edward Elric has an automail arm and that you're the sons of Nash Tringham!"

 _Crap! He knows they're not the real Elrics, what am I going to-_

"You know, I smell a rat" Mugear sneered as he dropped another stone in his device. Elina's hiding place began to glow red as wooden arms crashed into the wall and seized Elina. Elina whimpered as the wooden arm held her tight.

"Don't hurt her!" Fletcher cried.

"Looks like we have our first test subject" Mugear said giving a dark smile.

* * *

"Let us out of here, you coward!" Elina shouted.

"I'm the coward? Oh please! All these boys had to do was move into the contingency phase" Mugear snarled.

"Brother, what is phase 2?" Fletcher asked.

"Simple really!' Mugear boasted. "You introduce the red water into the drinking supply of pregnant women. It permeates their placenta, a factory of biological condensing!"

"No!" Fletcher cried.

"You sick-" Elina bit her tongue.

"You shut up!" Russell snapped.

"When the process is done, you extract it and transmute it into a stone." Mugear chuckled. "It's foolproof! Lets mother nature do the work!" Russell bit down in anger. "It's a shame. You've obviously inherited your father's cowardice."

"Wait!" Russell called. "Just tell me one thing Mugear; Did my father… Ever use that method on someone"

"No. At the last minute he had a crisis of morality and backed out. If only he had gone through with it, he would've saved his wretched life"

"You liar! You said he left here alive" Russell began shaking with frustration. Mugear just walked away. "Wait, Mugear… Get back here!"

"Um, miss? Are you okay?" Fletcher asked. Russell turned his head to find Elina's face was turning a deep red. He couldn't tell whether it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Just splendid, Fletcher" Elina responded through gritted teeth as the words _test subject_ kept repeating in her head. "Those idiots better come and get me soon"

"How can you have so much trust in those two?" Russell questioned.

"Because they're the only family I've got" Elina smiled. "We may not be related by blood, but I know they'll come"

"You must think I'm stupid for helping Mugear." Russell sighed.

"Actually no. I understand why you wanted to continue your father's work" Elina shook her head. "I wanted to impress my father when I was young, but in the end he was proud no matter what. He was just that kind of person. I may not know what your father was like, but I bet he would be proud that you refused to hurt anyone else."

"What about the people we did hurt?" Fletcher whimpered.

"Show them you're sorry. You want to help this town, right?" Elina asked. "Show them that you're committed to fixing your mistake. There's things you can do without some stupid stone"

"Do you really think they'll forgive us? After everything we've done?" Russell snapped.

"I don't know" Elina shrugged. "You'll have to gain back their trust, it will be difficult, but possible. Trust is earned, not given"

"How can you be so sure?!" Russell yelled. Elina turned to him with a smile.

"Because the boys had to gain MY trust, the one person who refused to say anything to anyone for more than a year." Elina leaned against a wall as her mind went back to the first year she traveled with the Elrics. "If they could get my trust, then you can the same for the townspeople."

Russell was left speechless.

"Anything can be fixed with enough effort… Except death" Elina sighed. "You and Fletcher have a purpose. It isn't helping Mugear, it's helping this town."

The room went quiet as the trio remained silent. Soon, footsteps approached the door, causing Elina to tense up. When the door opened, Ed was standing there with Al in the background.

"Hi!" Al waved.

"I knew I could count on you guys!" Elina smirked.

"I know who you guys are now and I know your father was Nash Tringham" Ed stated.

Both boys gasped.

"But I don't know is why you so foolishly continued his work" Ed snapped.

Russell gritted his teeth as his eyes trailed to the ground. "Because… It was his dream… and as his son it was my duty to see it through."

"So you honestly think that this is what he wanted?" Ed asked. "You do realize the suffering that toxic water has brought the town, don't you? When your father realized it, that's why he chose to abandon his research and I can tell you right now, you're not going to find happiness chasing your father's failed dream"

Edward walked forward as he clapped his hands and set them on the shackles around Fletcher and Russell's wrists. He did the same thing to Elina, turning the shackles into wooden blocks.

"Thanks Edward" Elina smiled as she rose to her feet.

"Don't mention it" Ed turned back to the boys. "Live your own life and stop with all the acting! Trying to be someone you're clearly not!" Ed turned to Elina. "Find somewhere to hide, Mugear's not going down without a fight. Come on, Al!" Ed finished as he ran back where he came from.

Just as Elina was about to follow the boys, someone grabbed her hand; Russell.

"What do you expect us to do? Our father's research was all we had. What do we do now?" Russell muttered.

"That's pretty easy; move on. Don't let this hold you back. Keep walking forward, that's what legs are for." Elina said as she pulled her hand back and raced towards Mugear's lab.

Finding the lab, Elina could hear voices as she leaned against the door. As she listened, she took one of the wooden blocks from her shackles and pressed the corner against her left palm.

"...His research wasn't making any progress, so I had to let him go" Mugear explained.

 _Let who go? Does he mean Nash Tringham?_ Elina wondered as she continued carving into her hand, fighting the urge to whimper.

"Huh. You don't strike me as the type of guy who let's someone, who knows all of his secrets, to just walk away clean" Ed inferred.

"I'm afraid I miss the implication" Mugear replied.

"I'm saying I don't answer to murderers, Mugear." Ed snapped. "You got that?"

"Really… In that case, you're not getting out of here alive!" Mugear threatened. "There are plenty other alchemists I can use!"

 _Calm yourself, Elina. I can't jump in yet_ Elina reasoned. _I'll just become an easy target for his stupid weapon._

"Another stone?!" Al gasped.

"Looks like he's got more than one!" Ed observed. "Elina, now would be a good time to jump in"

"It may not be as potent as the other one, but it'll do!" Mugear yelled as the wall shook when his weapon fired.

 _Not yet… Just hold on…_ Elina bit her tongue.

"Is that all you got?!" Ed shouted. Mugear began chuckling.

"Didn't think I had the stones?"

"Now would be a great time for some help!" Ed shouted. _Where is she?_

 _Almost…_

"Lina!" Ed shouted. Elina ran into the room as set her left hand on the ground and created a wall in front of the boys, shielding them. When she lifted her hand, the blood from her carved transmutation circle stained the wooden floor.

"I told you not to call me that!" Elina snapped, ignoring the pain in her hand.

"You again?!" Mugear yelled as he began firing at the wooden wall Elina created.

"That wall isn't going to hold up! Keep moving!" Elina shouted as she ran behind a concrete pillar with the boys.

"Can't hide for long!" Mugear laughed.

"I need my gloves!" Elina snapped. Leaning over, she saw her gloves in Mugear pocket. "Dammit!"

"We don't have time for that! We need a way out!" Ed snapped. The pillar was slowly wearing down from Mugear's weapon.

"Not… Done yet" Mugear said as he struggled to get more stones from his pocket. Suddenly, vines grabbed Mugear's arms and restrained him. At the door was Fletcher and Russell with their hands on a glowing plant.

"This is our chance!" Ed shouted as he turned around and began pushing the pillar. Elina and Alphonse joined in until the pillar tipped over, right onto Mugear with a crash.

"Well, Ed. I do hate to interrupt, but it looked like you needed the help." Russell grinned.

"Nah!" Ed denied.

"We're not going to be chasing our dad's dream anymore" Russell stated. "You're right. It's time we live our own lives."

"Russell!" Fletcher smiled. Elina ran over to the fallen pillar and saw her gloves. Picking them up, Elina felt something was very wrong as she examined the pillar. Rolling over the pillar, Elina began to see a stairway leading below the mansion

"Uh… Guys? We have a problem" Elina informed. Ed ran over and saw the passage, anger growing on his face.

"Aw crap!" Ed yelled. "A secret passage?! Alright guys, time for a chase!"

"Wait!" Fletcher shouted as he ran to the back of the room. He came back holding four masks. "We're going to need these"

The group ran through the underground tunnels as fast as they could, all of them were wearing masking, except for Alphonse (Who didn't need to breath in the first place).

"How much further?" Ed asked in between breaths.

"The spring where the red water comes out is up ahead, we're almost there" Russell answered. Everyone stopped when a wall blocked the path.

"Mugear blocked our path"

"Good thing we're alchemists" Elina smirked. Ed clapped his hands and set them on the wall, causing it to open from the center.. Once the wall was halfway open, leaving a large hole in the center, Mugear fired his red stone ammo through. Everyone jumped behind what little wall was left, dodging the bullet.

"I'll never surrender the spring!" Mugear declared. "As long as I have the red water, nothing can stop me! Least of all, a diminutive state alchemist and his copy cat friends!"

Ed stood in the center of Mugear's target range, gaining attention from his comrades.

"Brother!" Al warned.

"Ed!" Russell snapped.

"Don't do anything stupid" Elina warned.

"Diminutive state alchemist, huh?" Ed smirked as he clapped his hands. "Points for the big word, but you're still going down!"

"Oh yeah?!" Mugear growled as he fired his cannon. Ed closed the wall back up as the bullet (?) hit the wall, causing the wall to collapse and Mugear to fall back. Ed walked up to Mugear and put his foot in front of Mugear's face.

"You see, now?" Ed gloated. "Even with your stones, I'm on a whole 'nother level"

Suddenly, the room began to rumble.

"What's going on?" Mugear croaked.

"Edward! It's time to go!" Elina yelled. The spring began getting toppled by rocks and overflowing. "Mugear, get out of here!"

"I'll never the spring!" Mugear yelled. Mugear looked above him as a huge boulder fell from the ceiling and crushed him.

"You tried, Elina! Let's get out of here!" Russell shouted as the group began running out of the tunnels. The group stopped when Russell looked back in the tunnel. "Rushing water… The red water's overflowing"

Ed clapped his hands and formed a wall. "That should hold it for now." Ed explained.

"Won't it just come out somewhere else?" Al pointed out.

"Aw crap! The town!" Elina shouted. "What's gonna happen to the town?"

"We don't have time for that! That shock probably weakened the support beams. We have to go now!"

The trio ran outside as fast as they could only to see red water flowing from the mountain. Ed clapped his hands, setting them on the ground, and formed a bowl around the mansion. The red water poured out of the mountain and filled the bowl to it's brim.

"So now we're the ones trapped." Elina observed. " Not to mention the wall won't last forever. If only we had some kind of drain…"

Fletcher ran to one of the many trees around the mountain and used chalk to draw a transmutation circle on it. He put his forehead to the tree and it began glowing a neon green. The glow spread to the other trees as the red water was slowly absorbed. As more water was absorbed, the trees began to gain the same shade of red the water possessed. Elina and the boys stared in awe.

"The trees… They're absorbing all the red water" Ed explained.

"I remember seeing something like this in the lab" Al mentioned

"That's right! They were detoxifying the red water using plants" Ed agreed.

"Then that means Xenotime is safe?" Elina asked. Ed nodded as Elina let a smile grow on her face.

Russell put his hand on Fletcher as the younger boy smiled. "See? It works" Fletcher slightly bragged. Russell nodded as the two of them used both of their alchemical abilities to speed up the drainage of the red water. In a few short minutes, every plant, even the grass, had absorbed more than it's fair share of red water, turning all the plants the same crimson shade.

"They did it!" Elina cheered. "Xenotime, meet your heros!"

"At least they pulled. through." Ed sighed "Well done"

The boys looked at each other as Fletcher whispered to the tree in front of him. "Thank you trees. Sorry for this."

The trees began to glow, blue this time, once more as they soon shattered like glass into the air. Ed's alchemic wall slowly lowered as the blue dust left from the trees swept away with the wind.

"Elina! Hurry up!" Edward yelled as Elina ran onto the train, struggling to tie her bandages.

"I'm foing, I'm foing!" Elina muffled as she tied her left bandage with the help of her teeth. One of the bandages covered the transmutation circle she had carved into her hand. She sat onto the train booth next to Edward as she finished her left bandage. "Alphonse, can you tie this?" Elina asked holding out her right wrist with it's loose bandage.

"Sure" Al accepted as he began tying the bandage off.

"Take these!" Elisia's voice said as a basket of lemons was lifted up to the train window. "They're from my uncle!"

Ed lifted the basket into the cart as the trio thanked her. Standing behind Elisia was the Tringham brothers, sending the trio off as well.

"Stay out of trouble, you guys!" Elisia smiled.

"Yeah! And come back to see us!" Fletcher mentioned.

"Of course! You think we'd leave you and never come back?" Elina teased. "We'll visit, no matter how long it takes!"

"Next time you come, the town will be in much better shape!" Fletcher assured.

"I bet!" Elina smiled. "I hope you two make a name for yourself"

"I can tell you how to crystallize a red stone" Russell said, loudly. Everyone stopped chatting and listened in.

"Why?" Ed asked.

"It's not for atonement, more because you deserve to know" Russell stated. Ed shook his head.

"Thanks, Russell, but no thanks. We'll find the real article on our own. You can count on that" Ed gloated.

"You'll see, Ed! The next time you come to visit, this town'll be even better!" Fletcher assured.

"That's right! And by that time, I'll probably be taller than you!" Elisia smiled. Ed jumped out of his seat.

"Come on! Show a little respect for elders!" Ed smirked. The two younger kids began to laugh. "I'm serious! Why's that funny?"

"We'll just have to come back soon so that doesn't happen" Elina chuckled. The train began moving and the trio started waving.

"See you guys!"

"Goodbye!

"Don't grow any taller!"

* * *

As the sunset on the town of Xenotime, the trio was sitting in the train going to Eastern command. Elina's eyes were focused on a book as he grabbed something from the basket Elisia had given them.

"Hey, a letter" Ed said as Elina looked up to see.

"Is it for us?" Al asked.

"Yeah, let me read it" Ed said opening the paper.

"I bet it's from Russell" Elina sighed. "You two and your pride"

"WHAT?!" Ed jumped as Elina and Alphonse looked confused.

"What does it say?" Elina and Alphonse asked. Ed clutched the letter behind him.

"Drop it!" Ed snapped. "It's nothing, okay?"

"Oh come on, Ed! It's for all of us!" Elina complained. "Let us read it!"

Alphonse began chasing Ed yelling "LET ME SEE! LET ME SEE!"

This continued until Elina plucked the letter from Ed as his hand went over her head. "Elina! Give it back!"

Reading the contents, Elina began to chuckle. "This is the best letter yet! He's younger than you!"

"Cut it out!" Ed snapped. "How can he be younger than me yet taller? Life is so unfair"

"You think those two are gonna be alright?" Alphonse asked.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Ed assured.

"I have a theory on how you might grow taller" Elina chuckled. "Maybe if you got rid of your-"

"Don't say it!"

"Small fuse?"

"ELINA!"

* * *

 _Ed_

 _Thank you for all the words of wisdom you gave us. I'm sorry I was such a smartass to you at first, but I'm trying to be a better older brother to Fletcher. I'll try hard to follow your example Ed. I guess you being a year older than me makes a big difference. You may know how to be a better brother, but Elina knows how to be loyal. If it weren't for her, Fletcher would've been hurt, almost killed. I hope those books she took are a start to the big debt I owe her. Well have a good trip._

 _Russell_

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this chapter! I don't have much to say except congrats for waiting this long. Oh well! See you all later!**

 **Jackie C.A.**


	6. Burnt Memories

**Okay guys, I have to get serious for a minute. While writing this chapter, many things happened including:**

 **The Orlando shooting (God bless the victims). As someone who lives in Florida and supports the LGBT community, this has affected me greatly.**

 **The Bangladesh attacks**

 **Cristina Grimmie's death**

 **One of my animals getting sick and writer's block.**

 **All of the incidents have taken their tolls on me and honestly** **I cannot guarantee longer chapters, edited chapters, or my best effort for the next few chapters. I will also be traveling a lot for the next few months. I had to cut this chapter short, so please forgive me. For now, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Burnt Memories**

* * *

The rain poured down on the trio as the stood at the entrance to the Eastern Command Center. Elina felt herself sigh at the building she had refused to enter for years.

"Well, we're here" Ed stated.

"You got that right" Elina sighed.

The trio was silent for a minute.

"Shouldn't you just make your report and drop it off at your superior's office?" Elina suggested, hoping to avoid going into the building.

"Ed usually gives an oral report instead one on paper" Al explained.

"Which means I'll have to deal with colonel sarcasm once again." Ed began mocking Mustang's voice. "'Struck out on the philosopher's stone again, huh? How am I supposed to keep funding this goose chase? Money doesn't grow on trees there, chief!' 'Ed? Where'd you run off to?'" -He began looking at the ground- "'Oh there you are! I couldn't see you behind my paperwork, seeing how you're so short and all!'" Faking a laugh, Ed finish with a sigh. Al began backing into a dark alley beside the building, crouching down.

"Could be worse" Elina pointed out.

"How?"

"You could be stuck with him everyday" Elina smiled.

"He tracks my every move. Might as well be with me everywhere I go" Ed complained. "Hey, where did Al go?"

"He's over there. I think your Mustang impression scared him" Elina laughed.

Ignoring this, Ed called out to his younger sibling. "Come on, Al"

Alphonse turned around, holding his chest plate suspiciously, with his other hand on the back on his head. "Coming brother"

"What are you up to?" Ed questioned. Elina looked at Alphonse with a funny look as the meowing from Al's chest plate reached her ears. Al answered Ed's interrogation with a nervous chuckle.

Suddenly, a scream came from inside Eastern Command. "What…?" Ed questioned.

"I'm guessing something happened?" Elina shrugged.

"I'll ask. Are you coming with us this time?" Ed asked. Elina sighed. Every time the boys had gone into a government building (Minus police stations), Elina had waited outside for fear of a specific soldier being there. Unfortunately for Elina, the weather wasn't on her side today.

"I can't stay out in the rain, can I?" Elina shrugged with a nervous smile. "We'd better hurry inside"

The trio walked inside Eastern command and towards an office. Elina could feel her memory slowly recover the Command center her mother and father worked at. As the trio approached the door to an office, Edward slowly opened the door slowly. Elina felt herself tense as the door creaked open. Inside of the room were a group of officers. Edward recognized the officers as Breda, Falman, Havoc, Fury and Hawkeye. Elina recognized only one. Breda was on top of a set of cabinets, terrified, while sergeant Fury had a small black and white puppy in his arms.

"So, uh, should I come back later?" Ed asked. Everyone offered a warm smile. Elina felt her heart begin to race as she saw a familiar woman; Hawkeye.

"Hello Edward and Alphonse. I guess this- who is that?" Hawkeye asked as Elina bit her lip.

Before the boys or Elina could answer, a meow came from Al's chest plate. Al chuckled nervously.

"Excuse me, Al and I need to talk" Ed said through gritted teeth as he pulled Al out of the room.

"Edward, I believe you have a report to make" Hawkeye reminded.

Ed ran back in the room, saluting. "Thanks for the reminder, sir. I'll speak to the colonel now"

Before Elina could follow, Ed slammed the door, leaving Elina in the room. "Edward!"

"So what have the brothers done now?" Hawkeye asked as she took a good look at Elina. Suddenly, her memory recovered the image of an 8-year-old girl on a battlefield. "Fosther?"

Elina took a deep breath as she faced Hawkeye. The resemblance between her and her father was coming through like a light in a dark room.

"It's been a while. How's your brother?" Hawkeye asked. Elina flinched.

"That's something I prefer to keep in the dark" Elina said as she turned around and left the room.

* * *

"What was that about? You know her?" Havoc asked as he wiggled the cigarette in his mouth.

"Her parents were soldiers, one a state alchemist. She was in Ishval with her parents." Hawkeye sighed as she looked at the paperwork on Havoc's desk. "Shouldn't you get back to work?"

* * *

Elina let out a breath as she closed the door and walked down the hall. Suddenly, there was a long clanging and the petrified mews of a kitten. Elina dodged just in time to avoid the crying suit of armor currently dashing down the hallway yelling.

"I HATE YOU BROTHER! YOU'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN!"

"Wait Al! Think of the kitten!" Edward yelled.

"I AM! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO IS!"

"Alphonse!" Elina called out as the armor kept running. Ed ran up to Elina with a sad look. "I hope you know you slammed a door in my face. What happened?"

"Al snuck a kitten in his armor" Ed sighed.

"Again?" Elina groaned. "I'll talk to him. Where should I meet you?"

"Mustang's office. It's right down the hall" Edward said as he pointed in the direction.

"Thanks. I'll see you there" Elina smiled as she dashed in the direction of where the crying armor went. Elina stopped when she heard mewing behind a wall. On the other side of the wall was Al sitting on the ground with his chest plate open to reveal the smuggled kitty. "Alphonse?"

Al looked up and saw Elina smiling down at him. "Hi Elina. Are you going to tell me to put him back too?" Al sighed, referring to the kitten.

"Maybe?" Elina smiled nervously as she crouched to his level. "Look Alphonse, it's not bad you want to help small critters, but there's a fine line between helping and clinging."

"But he was out in the rain, cold and hungry. You understand, don't you?" Al pleaded.

"I do, but you can't keep him. We travel too much to have any kind of pet." Elina lectured softly. "It's hard to say 'no' to you. Edward realizes that, which is why he's so strict sometimes."

"But he doesn't-"

"Whatever you say, I'll have an argument, Alphonse" Elina interrupted. "You may seem grown-up, but the reality is that Edward is the older brother when he needs to be"

Al went silent.

"Look, I'll talk to Edward about the kitten." Elina sighed as Al perked up.

"Really?!" Al cheered.

"Hold on. You can't keep the kitten"-Al's mood sunk once more- "But you can find a home for it once the rain stops. Better than sticking the poor creature back on the streets, right?" Elina suggested as she reached over and pet the kitten on it's head. The kitten purred with pleasure.

Al nodded. "You really think brother will let me keep it until we find a home for it?"

"I have no clue, but it's worth a try" Elina smiled. "I'll go find Edward and talk to him. Why don't you find the kitten some food? No harm in feeding the little guy"

"Alright. Thanks Elina!" Al said happily as he got to his feet and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Now to Edward" Elina sighed to herself as she began walking to the office Ed had pointed to. She felt a nostalgic feeling as her feet took her down the halls. There was a time when she would sit in the halls of Central command memorizing military information for hours. Elina shook her head and the memories faded away like the sun in a cloud-filled sky. Approaching a door, Elina slowly opened it.

"Hey Edward, I need to talk to-" Elina froze when she saw a familiar man sitting at a desk in the front of the room she entered. Edward was about to walk out of the room as he looked puzzled at Elina's sudden reaction.

The man sitting at the desk had messy jet-black hair and white gloves on. His eyes widened as Elina walked in. Elina recognized the man immediately as a memory surfaced to her head.

 _Guns fired as a young girl ran through the battlefield with a notebook cradled in her arms. The Ishval rebellion was happening all around her as she ducked into a building and wrote in her notebook._

"The battle rages on in Ishval. The state alchemists seem to be doing a better job farther away from base. The Ishvalans near base are a little more common, but still manageable for regular soldiers _" The young girl wrote. She flinched as the ground shook and screams were heard. Closing her book, she once again ran across the sand. Suddenly, a large blast ignited, knocking the girl down. The girl hands throbbed as she grabbed her book and attempted to rise._

" _Hey kid! Watch out!" A voice yelled as the girl turned around to see an Ishvalan running towards her with a knife, ready to pierce her. Closing her eyes, the girl braced herself, but the knife never came. Opening her eyes, she saw a figure in front of her snap his fingers and a blast ignited. When the blast settled, all that was left of the Ishvalan was black ash. "Are you hurt?" The figure asked._

 _Before she could answer, her father came running through the sand. "Elina!" He yelled as he reached his daughter and embraced her. "I thought you were killed, you suddenly went missing. I was so worried!"_

" _I had to report" Elina answered as she held up her notebook._

" _Not when I can't be near you!" Her father lectured. He turned to the figure as he helped his daughter to her feet. "Thank you so much, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang. I can't thank you enough"_

" _It's my job" The man -Mustang- said as he looked at Elina. "You shouldn't let a little girl out on the battlefield, Fosther"_

" _I'm aware, sir. She was supposed to be at base, making her report" He turned to Elina. "NOT in the middle of a battlefield with guns blazing"_

" _I could gather more data in the field than on a base" Elina shrugged._

" _Elina, You're eight. You don't need to get killed. I can't protect you when I'm working at the base"_

" _Well I have a job to do!" Elina argued._

" _Elina-"_

" _I'll watch her" Mustang sighed._

" _Excuse me, sir?" Elina's father looked puzzled._

" _You're right. This is a war and it's no place for a little girl, but if she refuses to go back, I have no choice but to watch her myself" Mustang stated._

" _Sir, I couldn't-"_

" _I'll do it!" Elina interrupted. "If it means I can do my job, I'll do it. I'll stay with Mustang"_

 _Finally giving up, Elina's father sighed. "I trust you'll take care of her?" Elina's father asked, turning to Mustang._

" _Of course" Mustang smirked. With a sigh, Elina's father began walking back to base. Mustang looked at Elina with a sigh._

" _Your stubbornness will kill you one day, kid." Mustang warned._

" _Well, I'm not dead now"_

Both Elina and Mustang had a moment of silence. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Mustang broke the silence.

"Lina? Well, it's been awhile" Mustang grinned.

"I don't go by that nickname anymore, Colonel." Elina spoke. "It's Elina."

"I see. Is there a reason you're with Fullmetal, Fosther?" Mustang said with a smirk. Elina tightened her fists.

"She started traveling with us three years ago" Ed informed. "We met her in a town called Roxas-"

"Edward" Elina said cautiously. Ed nodded.

"I know, keep it short" Ed assured. "How's Al?"

"I'll tell you later" Elina chuckled.

"So Elina, if I may ask, why aren't you with your brother?" Mustang smirked.

Before Elina could snap back, the door opened to reveal Hawkeye with worry painted on her face.

"Company, sir!" She yelled.

Soldiers began to fill the room, arranging themselves in a line across the front of the room. The taller man in the middle caused a name to release itself from Elina's lips.

"Basque Gran" Elina said with a calm voice. "I see you've moved up the ranks."

"And I see you're still a soldier in training" Basque snapped. "Stand down. This is no time for chit chat. As of today, we'll be taking this HQ as a temporary Central command."

"May I ask what's wrong with the one in Central, sir?" Mustang asked with a salute. A laugh was heard as the soldiers by the door moved out of the way.

"I know, Mustang. I asked the same thing" An older man's voice agreed. Once he walked into the room, Elina let a smile through. "Sorry for the hassle! Everybody at ease, now" Furher Bradley yelled as his assistant trailed him.

"Furher Bradley, welcome sir" Mustang welcomed. Edward looked at Bradley's assistant closely.

"Your job is not to ask questions, Colonel. The Furher and his staff will run this place both to operate as Central command and to observe the region." Basque snapped. "I trust you'll make us comfortable"

The Furher walked up to Mustang's desk, only to stop when he made eye contact with Elina. The soldiers began leaving the room just as Bradley spoke up.

"Well, well. If it isn't Fosther's little girl" Bradley smiled. Elina returned the smile with a nervous chuckle. "It's nice to see you again, Elina."

"You as well, sir" Elina smiled.

"So what brings you to Eastern command, Fosther?" Bradley asked. Elina gestured to Ed.

"I'm traveling with the Elrics" Elina explained.

"I see. You'll be a good influence on them" Bradley agreed as he began walking out the door. "When you want to become an official soldier, just come to Central command and knock on my door"

When the Furher left the room, Edward looked at Elina with surprise. "Pretty much everyone knew my parents" Elina explained. "I was like the military's kid. Came everyday with something to do"

"Her parents were quite the officers" Mustang smirked. "Shame they left their kids to fend for themselves. They would be happy to know their son is following their footsteps."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Elina snapped. Ed immediately looked curious.

"What do you mean? I thought Elina was an only child" Ed asked.

"So you don't know" Mustang smirked. "Would you like to tell him yourself, Fosther?"

Elina growled as she took a deep breath. "Fine. I have an older brother. I'm assuming he's around 24 years old."

"Why does he know this?" Ed asked, gesturing at Mustang.

"Because he has my damn file" Elina snapped as she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The room was silent for a moment before Ed opened his mouth. "Why do you have her file?"

"Her father was under my command" Mustang explained as he sat at his desk, observing Ed's expression. "You want to see it"

"Elina will tell us when she's ready" Ed sighed.

"When will that be?" Mustang asked. Ed looked at the ground. Mustang grabbed a file from his desk and blew the dust off, causing a little cloud to form.

"Jeez! Ever think of dusting?!" Ed coughed. Mustang held the file out. Ed hesitated, but took the file, opening it's contents. The first few pages was simple information (Gender, birth date, age, etc.) and some photos from when she was younger. On the third page, Ed froze as he read quickly. Elina's voice rang through Ed's mind as he remembered everything Elina had said around the subject of her family.

" _I don't give a damn about my mother!"_

" _You can try to change my mind, but I've seen this before. And I won't be fooled by that, ever again."_

" _Do you even know what it's like to be betrayed?! You don't!"_

" _Because my mother wasn't a regular state alchemist… "_

 **Rosalie Cross was known as the Jade alchemist until September 1909 when she was killed during a raid. Information had been leaked that Officer Cross had been murdering anyone associated with the military in some way. Her certification was stripped, which prevented her from gaining the two ranks usually given to officers in death. Her daughter, Elina Fosther, had been at the crime scene...**

" _She was a monster"_

* * *

"Stupid bastard! Giving away my info like it's some kind of raffle prize!" Elina muttered. _Even if he did save my life back then… I owe him nothing!_

Elina gradually fastened her pace as she walked down the halls, allowing old memories to seep through the cracks of her mind.

" _One day she'll be an alchemist, just like her mother!"_

Elina shook her head as if the voices were water droplets she could easily shake off. The memories clung to her mind like candle wax on a table cloth.

" _She's just like her mother!"_

 _No_ Elina thought as she stopped running and began pulling at her scalp. Images of her mother on the night of her death flashed through her mind. Soldiers nearby began to stare. _...All that blood… The bullet… Right through her skull…_

"Miss, are you okay?" A young soldier with jet black hair asked. "Do you want me to call a medic?"

 _No… Stay away… For all I know, you're just like her…_ Elina struggled with her words. Elina fell to her knees, only worsening her panicked state and the worried expression on the officer's face.

"Can we get a medic over here?!" The officer shouted. Elina closed her eyes and tried to block out any noises with her hands over her ears. Elina began hearing the sentence that ruined her life four years ago repeat in her head.

" _You have to understand"_

" _You have to understand"_

" _You have to understand"_

" _Lina, please… "_

 _No!_

" _I can't"_

"STAY AWAY!" Elina shouted, grabbing a dagger from her back pocket and struck whatever was in front of her. Instead of a scream, Elina heard a clang of metal against metal as her heart began to soften its rapid pounding in her chest.

"You should know it takes more than that to kill me, Elina" A voice broke through to Elina's ears as she lowered her weapon and looked up. Staring down at her was Alphonse, with a very noticeable scratch on his chest plate, and beside her was the soldier, who appeared as if he had been pushed when Elina drew her weapon.

"A-Alphonse?" Elina whispered as she let reality sink in. She felt tears flowing down her face as she dropped her weapon and embraced the suit of armor. "I-I'm so s-sorry, Alphonse!"

"Elina… What happened?" Al asked. The trembling Elina shook her head as the tears kept flowing.

"I-I don't know…" Elina sobbed. "I d-don't want to be like h-her"

"Like who?" Alphonse asked, confused as to who Elina was referring to.

"I d-don't want to be like h-her, Alphonse… I-I don't w-want to be a m-monster… P-please... " Elina begged with tears flowing down her face. "N-no more… P-please... No m-more…"

* * *

"Look! Can you believe how big Elicia's gotten? She can even ride a tricycle now!" Hughes bragged as he showed off a picture of his daughter to Edward. "She follows me everywhere on that thing, like my own escort of cuteness!" He sighed as he kissed the photograph.

"You're the same as ever, Major. Nice and insane" Ed sighed.

"I've got more pictures, wanna see?" Hughes offered.

"Maybe later, okay?" Ed skipped to the point. "Anyway, if you knew this transfer was gonna happen, you could've warned Mustang"

"Not a chance!" Hughes pouted. "I had to see the look on Roy's face! Oh, by the way, I'm a lieutenant Colonel now! Got me in charge of court marshal investigations."

"Sounds fun-filled beyond belief" Ed brushed off. "Shouldn't you be in Central, then?"

"Why? So I can work in a bunch of empty offices?" Hughes pouted. "All the major big leagues are fleeing Central as fast as they-"

This got Edward's attention. Hughes got nervous and switched subjects.

"Nevermind! How's the search going for the, uh,-" Hughes leaned in and whispered. "The you-know-what stone?"

"Well, we're closer or I'd like to think we are. We started traveling with someone who knows the military pretty well a few years ago" Ed informed, thinking of Elina's sudden appearance in the middle of their search. " Now I'm looking for a guy named Marcoh, who might have answers for me. I can't get Mustang to tell me what he's got on him."

"Considered that he might not have anything?" Hughes asked.

"I know Mustang's hiding stuff from me" Ed growled. "I can tell-"

The two's conversation stopped when a certain person shadow loomed over them: Basque Gran. Hughes began slightly glaring and Ed kept his expression neutral.

"Did I hear you say the name 'Marcoh', Fullmetal?" Basque questioned, using Ed's title.

"Brigadier General Gran" Hughes said with a solemn tone.

"The Iron Blood alchemist…" Ed slightly spat. "What do you want?"

"What do you want with Marcoh?" Basque growled. "He's a filthy deserter." All eyes turned to Gran. "6 years ago, a brigade of state alchemists were called to neutralize the Eastern rebellion. Marcoh was in their ranks, He went awol before the battle was done. The coward's been missing ever since. "

Everything was silent until an officer approached Edward.

"Mr. Elric?" The officer asked, running a hand through his ginger hair. "An Alphonse Elric has requested you at the infirmary."

"Did something happen to my brother?" Ed asked, worry in his expression.

"He seemed fine, but the girl with him was a bit worse for wear" The officer confessed.

"You mean Elina?" Ed asked. The officer shrugged.

"I'm assuming that's her name" The officer said.

"Thanks, you're dismissed" Hughes said as he rose from his chair, accepting the salute from the young officer. "Is it that partner you were telling me about earlier?"

"Yeah, I guess something happened." Ed sighed.

"Well, better not keep her waiting." Hughes said, patting Ed on the back. "I'll catch you later"

"You too" Ed nodded as he began making his way to the infirmary. _Elina, what have you done this time?_

* * *

Alphonse sat quietly as Elina slept in one of the white infirmary beds.

" _I-I'm so s-sorry, Alphonse!... I-I don't w-want to be a m-monster"_

Alphonse sighed as he recalled everything Elina had said, how terrified she had seemed. If Alphonse hadn't stepped in…

" _STAY AWAY!" Elina shouted as she grabbed her dagger. Alphonse pushed the soldier in front of her out of the way and held his ground as the dagger hit his chest plate with a clang._

"Elina… What happened to you?" Al whispered

"What happened?"

Alphonse spun around to see his brother standing at the infirmary door. "Brother! I don't know. She just… Lost herself for a moment."

"Did she say anything before she passed out?" Ed asked, messing with his coat.

"She said ' i don't want to be like her'..." Al answered with a gloomy tone.

Ed immediately knew who Elina was referring to and drew in a sharp breath.

"Brother?"

"Yeah Al?"

"Who was Elina talking about?" Al asked innocently.

"... I don't know" Ed felt his voice slip. His mind went to Elina's file once more. _I shouldn't have read it… I'm just as bad as Mustang_

* * *

Elina's eyes slowly opened as she looked around the room. It seemed she was in an infirmary judging from the lack of color and the type of equipment she saw (Syringes, stethoscopes, etc.).

"Oh, you're awake" A familiar voice said, causing Elina to look beside her. Beside Al was a man with spiky black hair, glasses, and a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's you Alphonse" Elina smiled. "But who's he?"

"You don't remember me? I'm insulted, Ellie" The man laughed.

Al looked at the man with confusion. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, do you know Elina?"

"Who didn't?" Hughes laughed.

"Hughes?" Elina repeated as she tried to remember where she heard the name. Elina's expression changed to a smile when she realized who the man was.

"Remember now, Ellie?" Hughes laughed. Elina jumped out of the bed she was in and embraced the man.

"Mr. Hughes! It's nice to see you again!" Elina laughed. "How's your girlfriend?"

"Wow, she's not my girlfriend anymore, she's my wife!" Hughes bragged as he pulled a photo out of his coat. "And this is my darling daughter Elicia!"

"Really?!" Elina smiled "That's awesome! She looks just like you!"

"Woah, woah" Al said as he tried to clear up his confusion. "You two know each other?!"

"Yeah. Roy was my dad's superior it was only natural that I met Hughes!" Elina smiled.

"It' good to know the boys are watching over you" Hughes smiled. "With Ed and Roy's fight approaching, he'll need all the help he-"

"Wait, what fight?" Elina asked.

* * *

 **This may upset some people, but I will be taking a three week break from Fanfiction and writing in general. I just need to get back in the swing of things and be able to care for my sick animal. Happy late 4th of July.**

 **Everyone stay safe and positive until my next update!**

 **\- Jackie C.A.**


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